ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading Up 2% on Analyst Upgrade

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) shares shot up 2% during trading on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $150.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. ServiceNow traded as high as $131.15 and last traded at $129.73. Approximately 16,801,204 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 23,701,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.20.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut ServiceNow from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on ServiceNow from $200.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus lowered their target price on ServiceNow from $180.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price (up from $160.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.24.

Insider Transactions at ServiceNow

In other ServiceNow news, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $188,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 46,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,864,264. The trade was a 3.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded Tech Mahindra partnership: ServiceNow announced a multi-year expansion with Tech Mahindra to help customers move AI projects from pilot programs into production-scale deployments. The partnership combines ServiceNow’s AI platform with Tech Mahindra’s consulting and industry expertise, potentially accelerating platform adoption, automation revenue, and measurable customer outcomes. Tech Mahindra and ServiceNow Expand Partnership to Deliver Production-Ready Enterprise AI at Scale
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raises its price target: BofA lifted its ServiceNow target to $150 from $130 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing the company’s potential to monetize AI. The upgrade added to broader optimism around software companies that appear capable of benefiting from, rather than being displaced by, AI. ServiceNow, Adobe, Workday stocks get BofA PT boost
• Positive Sentiment: Improving sentiment toward enterprise software: Analysts and market commentators increasingly argue that profitable, established software platforms such as ServiceNow can withstand AI disruption. Investors are also pointing to ServiceNow’s growth profile and expanding AI use cases as reasons the stock may continue recovering. ServiceNow’s stock leads a software rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing strategic expansion: Coverage of ServiceNow’s approximately $8 billion Armis cybersecurity acquisition highlights the company’s effort to broaden its platform and strengthen its security offering. The deal could add growth and cross-selling opportunities, but its size also raises integration and execution considerations. Inside the $8 billion cybersecurity acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and valuation risks remain: A startup called Serval is promoting AI-based enterprise automation that could compete with ServiceNow’s workflow platform. In addition, reports of insider selling and ServiceNow’s elevated valuation could limit upside if AI monetization or growth expectations disappoint. Serval Wants To Replace ServiceNow With AI

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the second quarter worth $9,536,615,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in ServiceNow by 404.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,963,384 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $15,619,771,000 after purchasing an additional 81,752,460 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in ServiceNow by 406.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,896,597 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $7,337,280,000 after purchasing an additional 38,441,898 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in ServiceNow by 371.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,395,663 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,962,692,000 after purchasing an additional 25,517,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in ServiceNow by 404.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,512,428 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,591,425,000 after purchasing an additional 18,854,775 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $134.14 billion, a PE ratio of 81.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.94.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.04. ServiceNow had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 16.45%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. ServiceNow’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

About ServiceNow

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.