ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $127.00, but opened at $122.33. ServiceNow shares last traded at $124.5890, with a volume of 2,590,864 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOW. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $122.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Capital One Financial boosted their price target on ServiceNow from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded ServiceNow from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.24.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $128.65 billion, a PE ratio of 77.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Insider Transactions at ServiceNow

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Florida Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in ServiceNow by 3.6% during the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 514 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. American Trust raised its position in ServiceNow by 1.8% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,029 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $947,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in ServiceNow by 0.5% during the second quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 3,488 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC lifted its holdings in ServiceNow by 3.7% in the third quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 567 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.