ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading Up 2.3% – Time to Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NOW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $950.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James initiated coverage on ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,200.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $1,300.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,275.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ServiceNow has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,114.24.

ServiceNow Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,006.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $985.52. The company has a market cap of $174.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last announced its quarterly 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 research analysts predict that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In other news, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 1,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,019.10, for a total value of $1,287,123.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,564.50. The trade was a 32.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Nicholas Tzitzon sold 2,945 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $923.72, for a total value of $2,720,355.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,370,654.28. The trade was a 44.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,351 shares of company stock worth $20,050,076. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOW. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in ServiceNow by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 497 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 459 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 2,622 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,779,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 302 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Onefund LLC raised its position in ServiceNow by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Onefund LLC now owns 552 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.