ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading Up 3.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• ServiceNow shares rose 3.4% on Monday, trading as high as $113.03 after closing at $107.71, with volume below its daily average.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock despite some target cuts: ServiceNow has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $141.47.
• The company’s latest earnings showed 22.1% year-over-year revenue growth to $3.77 billion, with EPS of $0.97 matching estimates; insiders have also been selling shares recently.

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) rose 3.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $113.03 and last traded at $111.3190. Approximately 16,533,776 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 23,766,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOW. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on ServiceNow from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus cut their price target on ServiceNow from $180.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $130.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Monday, June 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (down from $163.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.47.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $102.49 and its 200-day moving average is $110.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $114.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.96.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.97. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. ServiceNow's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 8,927 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.60, for a total transaction of $799,859.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 29,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,645,977.60. This trade represents a 23.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.23, for a total value of $130,845.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 44,930 shares in the company, valued at $3,919,243.90. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,071 shares of company stock valued at $2,529,956. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covenant Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in ServiceNow by 169.2% during the fourth quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 13,114 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in ServiceNow in the fourth quarter worth $2,020,992,000. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in ServiceNow by 411.7% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 47,955 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $7,346,000 after purchasing an additional 38,583 shares during the period. Cohen Klingenstein LLC boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Cohen Klingenstein LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 387.7% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 45,630 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,990,000 after buying an additional 36,274 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.18% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow Company Profile

ServiceNow NYSE: NOW is a cloud computing company that builds enterprise software to manage digital workflows and automate business processes. Its offerings are designed to replace manual work and legacy systems with cloud-based, service-oriented applications that support IT operations, customer service, human resources, security response and other enterprise functions.

The company's flagship product family is the Now Platform, a suite of subscription software and platform services that includes IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations Management (ITOM), IT Business Management (ITBM), Customer Service Management (CSM), HR Service Delivery, Security Operations and Asset Management.

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