ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock Falls 2.1% – What’s Next?

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)’s share price fell 2.1% on Thursday. The company traded as low as $99.63 and last traded at $100.65. Approximately 9,672,738 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 21,486,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.76.

Recent ServiceNow Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about NOW:

• Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow’s AI opportunity remains a potential long-term catalyst: its expanded Google Cloud partnership enables Gemini Enterprise to carry out business workflows. However, the financial payoff depends on adoption and monetization. ServiceNow and Google Cloud AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is broadly favorable, with a reported average price target of $154.50 and most covering analysts rating the shares a Buy. Targets may lag changing market expectations, however. Analyst price target report
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a 29% monthly share decline and lingering concerns after quarterly EPS slightly missed estimates, despite revenue topping forecasts and growing 20.5% year over year. Broad weakness in technology stocks may also be weighing on sentiment. ServiceNow’s recent share decline

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOW has been the subject of several research reports. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. UBS Group restated an “underweight” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Yorkville Ives started coverage on ServiceNow in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price objective on ServiceNow from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.50.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $133.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $104.47 billion, a PE ratio of 72.41, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.00.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The information technology services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. ServiceNow had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 15.17%. The company’s revenue was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In other news, insider Jacqueline Canney sold 1,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.70, for a total value of $131,091.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,271.40. This represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 2,034 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 18,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,706,760.35. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 13,870 shares of company stock worth $1,880,595 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOW. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,536,615,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $712,573,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $641,888,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $627,355,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in ServiceNow in the second quarter valued at approximately $595,157,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow, Inc. provides cloud-based software that helps organizations manage digital workflows and automate business processes. Founded in 2004 by Fred Luddy, the company began with a focus on IT service management and has expanded its platform to support a range of enterprise operations. Its products include tools for IT service and operations management, customer service, human resources, security, and application development. ServiceNow also offers artificial intelligence capabilities, including tools designed to help organizations automate tasks and find information across workflows.