ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock Price Up 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) shares rose 2.4% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $157.60 and last traded at $156.8520. 17,299,391 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 21,420,305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.12.

Key Stories Impacting ServiceNow

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $180 ahead of ServiceNow’s third-quarter results, citing continued demand for AI-related products and services. The revised target signals confidence that AI adoption can support additional growth. Bank of America Boosts ServiceNow Forecast Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow’s defense and national-security business is being positioned as a major growth driver over the next year. Management highlighted demand for workflow automation, AI, cybersecurity, logistics modernization and digital transformation among military and government agencies. ServiceNow Defense Business Interview
• Positive Sentiment: The company and Nvidia launched “Arc,” an AI agent designed to plan tasks and verify its work. The product reinforces ServiceNow’s strategy of embedding governed, enterprise-grade AI into its workflow platform, potentially supporting product adoption and customer spending. ServiceNow and Nvidia Launch Arc
• Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow was selected as a preferred idea on CNBC’s “Final Trades,” while Polen Capital highlighted the company’s AI opportunity and revenue-growth prospects. These endorsements add to favorable market sentiment, although they are not substitutes for operating results. ServiceNow on CNBC’s Final Trades
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on ServiceNow’s upcoming third-quarter earnings, with analysts examining subscription growth, current remaining performance obligations, margins and other operating metrics beyond revenue and EPS. Results and guidance could determine whether the recent rally continues. ServiceNow Q3 Performance Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Comparisons with TD SYNNEX frame ServiceNow as a less obvious value investment. NOW’s premium valuation means the stock remains sensitive to an earnings or guidance disappointment, despite its strong growth prospects. SNX vs. NOW Value Comparison

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NOW shares. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research cut shares of ServiceNow from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Argus increased their price target on ServiceNow from $134.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ServiceNow presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.10.

ServiceNow Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a market cap of $164.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.56, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.04. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 16.45% and a net margin of 11.34%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ServiceNow news, insider Paul Fipps sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.87, for a total value of $300,767.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 18,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,706,760.35. This trade represents a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Chamberlain sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.50, for a total value of $365,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,960,645. This trade represents a 5.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,081 shares of company stock worth $1,937,904. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capelight Capital Asset Management LP purchased a new position in ServiceNow in the third quarter valued at approximately $10,051,000. Leeward Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in ServiceNow by 963.1% during the third quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 28,481 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,817,000 after purchasing an additional 25,802 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in ServiceNow by 3.3% in the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,371 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in ServiceNow by 5.0% in the third quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 7,389 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Ion Advisors LLC increased its position in ServiceNow by 7.0% in the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 4,077 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow, Inc provides cloud-based software designed to help organizations digitize, automate and manage enterprise workflows. Its Now Platform connects people, processes and systems across departments, enabling customers to manage work through a centralized technology environment.

The company’s products and services address a range of business needs, including information technology service management, IT operations management, customer service management, human resources service delivery, security operations, risk and compliance, and application development.