BNP Paribas Acquires 159,666 Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. $NOW

BNP Paribas grew its holdings in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) by 429.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 196,825 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 159,666 shares during the period. ServiceNow comprises about 0.9% of BNP Paribas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. BNP Paribas’ holdings in ServiceNow were worth $30,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOW. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,020,992,000. Cohen Klingenstein LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 411.7% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 47,955 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $7,218,000 after acquiring an additional 38,583 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 387.7% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 45,630 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,990,000 after acquiring an additional 36,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 385.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,599,397 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $398,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064,440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on NOW shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $200.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $125.00 to $118.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus decreased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $180.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.85.

Key ServiceNow News

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow is benefiting from a broad software rally after Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said AI should be seen as an opportunity for software firms rather than a threat. ServiceNow, Adobe stocks jump as Nvidia’s new AI chip sparks software rally
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to ServiceNow’s recent quarterly results, which beat revenue estimates and showed continued double-digit growth, supporting the view that fundamentals remain strong. ServiceNow (NOW) shares skyrocket, what you need to know
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage points to ServiceNow as a leader in the software comeback, with investors betting the sector may have more room to rebound as AI demand grows. ServiceNow Is Leading a Software Comeback for These Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around “agentic AI” and ServiceNow’s role in enterprise automation is adding to bullish sentiment, but it is more narrative-driven than a new hard catalyst. What Exactly Is Agentic AI, and Why Are Some Stocks Blowing Up Because of It? (NOW)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage continues to highlight ServiceNow as a stock with upside potential, reinforcing the positive tone but not adding a new company-specific announcement. ServiceNow Stock: Is NOW Underperforming the Technology Sector?

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In other news, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.51, for a total transaction of $103,238.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,212.72. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 8,927 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.60, for a total transaction of $799,859.20. Following the sale, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,071 shares of company stock worth $2,529,956. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

NYSE:NOW opened at $135.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $139.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.13. ServiceNow, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.24 and a twelve month high of $211.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.97. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

ServiceNow 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.