ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $176.00. The stock had previously closed at $140.86, but opened at $145.54. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. ServiceNow shares last traded at $143.8830, with a volume of 2,828,107 shares.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on NOW. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on ServiceNow from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on ServiceNow from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In other news, Director Paul Chamberlain sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.50, for a total transaction of $365,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,960,645. This represents a 5.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jacqueline Canney sold 7,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.00, for a total transaction of $1,082,886.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,796. The trade was a 20.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 14,081 shares of company stock worth $1,937,904 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting ServiceNow

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst confidence ahead of earnings: Wall Street analysts maintain a Buy-oriented view before third-quarter results, citing strong demand for ServiceNow’s enterprise AI offerings and potential growth in federal-government spending. ServiceNow Gets Wall Street’s Vote of Confidence Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Higher price targets: RBC raised its ServiceNow target from $130 to $176 and reiterated an Outperform rating, while BTIG reaffirmed Buy with a $170 target. The revisions suggest analysts see additional upside if growth expectations hold. ServiceNow Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: AI product momentum: Sakon introduced Ask Milo, an AI companion for enterprise telecom built on ServiceNow, providing another example of customers and partners expanding use of the company’s platform. Sakon Introduces Ask Milo on ServiceNow
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain strong: ServiceNow’s latest reported quarter exceeded consensus estimates, with revenue up 24% year over year, reinforcing the growth case behind the recent share-price increase.
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons with Salesforce frame ServiceNow as the faster-growing, AI-focused option, but the choice depends on whether investors prioritize growth or balance-sheet strength and valuation. Salesforce vs. ServiceNow
• Negative Sentiment: After its substantial six-month advance, ServiceNow faces higher expectations; its elevated earnings multiple increases the risk of profit-taking or a disappointing reaction if upcoming results or guidance fail to justify the valuation. ServiceNow: 3 Reasons We Love This Stock

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the 2nd quarter worth $9,536,615,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in ServiceNow by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,038,218 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,868,514,000 after acquiring an additional 979,726 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in ServiceNow by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 16,638,071 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,828,000 after acquiring an additional 2,362,606 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in ServiceNow by 60.9% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,479,098 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,200,140,000 after acquiring an additional 4,346,722 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in ServiceNow by 6.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,526,931 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $891,491,000 after purchasing an additional 518,263 shares during the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $144.95 billion, a PE ratio of 87.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.62.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.04. ServiceNow had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 16.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow Company Profile

ServiceNow, Inc is a cloud-based enterprise software company that helps organizations digitize, automate and manage workflows. Its platform connects people, processes and systems across departments, enabling businesses to replace manual, disconnected activities with standardized digital workflows.

The company’s products and services support a range of functions, including information technology service management, IT operations management, customer service, human resources, risk and security operations, and software development.