HSBC Issues Pessimistic Forecast for ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock Price

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at HSBC from $266.40 to $226.00 in a report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. HSBC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 93.61% from the company’s previous close.

NOW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. DZ Bank raised shares of ServiceNow to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of ServiceNow from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho lowered their target price on ServiceNow from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $180.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.47.

ServiceNow Stock Down 0.0%

ServiceNow stock opened at $116.73 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.88. The stock has a market cap of $121.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.98, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.98. ServiceNow has a 52 week low of $113.13 and a 52 week high of $211.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The information technology services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. ServiceNow had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 18.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that ServiceNow will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

In related news, insider Kevin Thomas Mcbride sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.50, for a total transaction of $235,894.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,257,893.92. This trade represents a 5.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Nicholas Tzitzon sold 2,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.42, for a total value of $431,735.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,481,240. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,310 shares of company stock worth $2,533,585 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 404.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,963,384 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $15,619,771,000 after buying an additional 81,752,460 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in ServiceNow by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,454,699 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $8,700,970,000 after buying an additional 131,080 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in ServiceNow by 280.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 8,432,389 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,291,758,000 after acquiring an additional 6,213,762 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 388.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,706,164 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $720,325,000 after buying an additional 3,743,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,574,563 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,684,445,000 after purchasing an additional 88,057 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — EPS and revenue topped street estimates and subscription revenue grew >20%, showing continued demand and AI adoption. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a $5B buyback (including $2B accelerated), which is supportive for EPS and signals management confidence. Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI product traction and partnerships (Anthropic, OpenAI integrations) underpin longer-term growth potential and enterprise adoption. AI Partnerships
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed: several firms (DA Davidson, Cantor, BTIG, Needham) reiterated/maintained buy or overweight ratings and raised/kept targets, while others cut targets or downgraded — leaving a wide range of price targets and sentiment dispersion. Analyst Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options volume was reported, indicating speculative/moderately aggressive trading that can amplify intraday moves (uncertain directional implication). Options Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance signaled a slowdown: management forecast subscription growth for FY26 that implies deceleration from 2025 levels — investors viewed this as a notable deceleration risk. Guidance/Slowdown
• Negative Sentiment: Broader sector and AI disruption fears triggered a sell-off in software names; commentary highlighted multiple compression and concerns competition from new AI entrants could hurt growth/valuation. Sector/AI Fears
• Negative Sentiment: Some firms cut price targets sharply (KeyCorp to $115, Macquarie to $140), reflecting concern over valuation and near‑term execution — that contributed to downward pressure. Price Target Cuts

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is a cloud computing company that builds enterprise software to manage digital workflows and automate business processes. Its offerings are designed to replace manual work and legacy systems with cloud-based, service-oriented applications that support IT operations, customer service, human resources, security response and other enterprise functions.

The company’s flagship product family is the Now Platform, a suite of subscription software and platform services that includes IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations Management (ITOM), IT Business Management (ITBM), Customer Service Management (CSM), HR Service Delivery, Security Operations and Asset Management.