ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at Erste Group Bank

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Erste Group Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NOW. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $1,426.00 to $1,082.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ServiceNow from $1,100.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,200.00 to $1,050.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $1,250.00 to $1,025.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ServiceNow currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,041.48.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

Shares of NOW stock traded down $10.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $967.71. 1,268,782 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,510,648. ServiceNow has a 52-week low of $637.99 and a 52-week high of $1,198.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $840.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $969.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.08.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 12.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.41 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that ServiceNow will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In other news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 292 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,017.55, for a total transaction of $297,124.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,080,123.85. This represents a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jonathan Chadwick sold 770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.62, for a total value of $717,347.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,985,842.10. The trade was a 19.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,692 shares of company stock valued at $18,173,444 in the last three months. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServiceNow

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOW. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 497 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 459 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 2,622 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 302 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Onefund LLC lifted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Onefund LLC now owns 552 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ServiceNow Company Profile

ServiceNow, Inc provides end to-end intelligent workflow automation platform solutions for digital businesses in the North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates the Now platform for end-to-end digital transformation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, process mining, performance analytics, and collaboration and development tools.