ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading 2.3% Higher – What’s Next?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $1,230.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded ServiceNow from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $1,300.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $716.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on ServiceNow from $1,210.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,114.24.

ServiceNow Trading 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 stock has a market capitalization of $172.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.88, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $997.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $983.31.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.67. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 12.97%. As a group, equities analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

ServiceNow announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Nicholas Tzitzon sold 2,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,370,654.28. This represents a 44.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 455 shares of the company’s 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 value of $481,635.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,027 shares in the company, valued at $3,204,200.58. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,351 shares of company stock worth $20,050,076. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in ServiceNow by 83.0% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,568 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,662,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,996,000. TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new stake in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth approximately $528,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth approximately $153,000. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth approximately $198,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

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.