ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock Price Up 2.3% – Should You Buy?

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) shares shot up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $843.52 and last traded at $827.36. 853,554 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 1,758,782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $808.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NOW. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp downgraded ServiceNow from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $1,300.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on ServiceNow from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,114.24.

ServiceNow Stock Up 3.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $997.51 and a 200-day moving average of $983.31. The company has a market capitalization of $172.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.88, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.03.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.67. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 17.11%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

ServiceNow announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

In other ServiceNow news, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 4,442 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $964.70, for a total value of $4,285,197.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,733,252.20. The trade was a 28.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 292 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,017.55, for a total transaction of $297,124.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,080,123.85. This trade represents a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,351 shares of company stock valued at $20,050,076 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of ServiceNow by 499,668.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,772,785 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,268,731,000 after acquiring an additional 4,771,830 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the 4th quarter valued at $2,603,360,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 216.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,367,875 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,206,178,000 after buying an additional 935,848 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 154,255.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 666,815 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 666,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in ServiceNow in the 4th quarter worth $682,468,000. Institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Company Profile

ServiceNow, Inc provides end to-end intelligent workflow automation platform solutions for digital businesses in the North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates the Now platform for end-to-end digital transformation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, process mining, performance analytics, and collaboration and development tools.