UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock Price

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $1,250.00 to $1,000.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 24.41% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Raymond James initiated coverage on ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,200.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on ServiceNow from $1,050.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on ServiceNow from $1,432.00 to $1,426.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $716.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,118.03.

ServiceNow Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of ServiceNow stock traded up $19.97 on Tuesday, hitting $803.80. 723,108 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,728,227. ServiceNow has a 52-week low of $637.99 and a 52-week high of $1,198.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $165.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.09, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,011.72 and its 200 day moving average is $985.64.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 17.11%. Equities analysts anticipate that ServiceNow will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

ServiceNow announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 29th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,058.54, for a total transaction of $481,635.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,204,200.58. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Nicholas Tzitzon sold 2,945 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $923.72, for a total transaction of $2,720,355.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,370,654.28. This trade represents a 44.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,351 shares of company stock worth $20,050,076 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. United Bank purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the third quarter valued at $480,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in ServiceNow by 6.5% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 391 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 15.7% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 184 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ServiceNow by 54.2% in the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 6.6% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,536,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 87.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ServiceNow

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.