ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading 6.3% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) were up 6.3% during trading on Friday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $219.00 to $226.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the stock. ServiceNow traded as high as $90.39 and last traded at $90.0860. Approximately 38,728,236 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 83% from the average daily volume of 21,139,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.78.

NOW has been the subject of several other research reports. Capital One Financial reduced their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $158.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $175.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $200.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ServiceNow news, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.17, for a total transaction of $151,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,697,323.10. This represents a 3.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 9,641 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.93, for a total transaction of $1,021,271.13. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,419.01. This trade represents a 45.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,237 shares of company stock worth $1,697,162. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key ServiceNow News

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and upgraded outlook — ServiceNow beat revenue and EPS expectations and raised its annual subscription-revenue outlook, with management pointing to accelerating AI product demand. ServiceNow boosts annual subscription revenue outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate wins & partnerships support AI story — ServiceNow highlighted customer traction (e.g., TridentCare) and deepened a Google Cloud partnership to deliver AI agents across enterprises, supporting the company’s long-term AI monetization thesis. ServiceNow and Google Cloud unite AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Armis acquisition expands security footprint — ServiceNow closed the $7.75B Armis deal, adding cyber-exposure capabilities that complement its platform even though integration costs will pressure margins initially. ServiceNow completes Armis acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO frames AI as productivity lever — Management said AI will boost productivity (limit headcount growth) and that AI revenue is scaling, which supports the strategy but may not soothe near-term investors focused on margins. AI will boost productivity
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader AI disruption debate — Industry coverage notes both AI tailwinds and structural risks (including job displacement), a backdrop that is increasing volatility for software names. Whether AI is killing tech jobs
• Negative Sentiment: Margin headwinds called out — ServiceNow said the Armis acquisition and related costs will create a multi-quarter margin headwind, a primary driver of investor concern. Armis deal will weigh on margins
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical deal delays hitting subscription growth — Management flagged that conflict in the Middle East delayed several large deal closings (?75 bps headwind to subscription growth), which pressured near-term guidance. ServiceNow flags Middle East deal delays
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price-target cuts and sector contagion amplified the drop — Multiple firms trimmed targets and several software peers fell as markets re-priced AI-risk and near-term growth/margin uncertainty. ServiceNow’s stock sinks, taking sector down

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServiceNow

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 27 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 160 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 165 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 540.0% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 160 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Blueline Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. 87.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.69, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.45.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.49 EPS for the current year.

ServiceNow Company 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.