ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $176.00. The stock had previously closed at $140.86, but opened at $145.54. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. ServiceNow shares last traded at $143.8830, with a volume of 2,828,107 shares.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on ServiceNow from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on ServiceNow from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ServiceNow presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jacqueline Canney sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.00, for a total transaction of $1,082,886.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,145,796. This represents a 20.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 2,034 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.87, for a total transaction of $300,767.58. Following the sale, the insider owned 18,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,706,760.35. This trade represents a 10.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,081 shares of company stock valued at $1,937,904. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about ServiceNow

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain optimistic ahead of third-quarter results. Oppenheimer said channel checks point to a favorable Q3 outcome, while another analyst identified ServiceNow as a top software pick with potential revenue acceleration into fiscal 2027 as AI, security and usage-based products expand. ServiceNow Positioned to Deliver Favorable Business Outcome in Q3 Analyst Calls ServiceNow a Top Software Pick
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its ServiceNow price target to $176 from $130 and maintained an Outperform rating. BTIG also reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $170 target, providing evidence of continued Wall Street confidence. ServiceNow Stock Gets Price Target Increase from Royal Bank of Canada
• Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow’s AI business continues to gain traction, with enterprise demand, AI-powered workflows and products such as Flow viewed as potential sources of a new billion-dollar growth engine. The company continues to report revenue growth above 20%, including 24% growth in its latest reported quarter. Prediction: ServiceNow Could Be Building Its Next Billion-Dollar Growth Engine
• Neutral Sentiment: AI-agent startup Decagon reportedly held early acquisition discussions with ServiceNow and other companies. Any deal could strengthen ServiceNow’s AI capabilities, but the talks are preliminary and no transaction has been announced. AI agent company Decagon held early M&A talks with ServiceNow
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains the central risk. With a market value near $139 billion, investors increasingly need ServiceNow’s strong AI-led growth to produce substantially higher free cash flow before the shares appear inexpensive. ServiceNow Is Growing 24%, but Can Cash Flow Justify Its Valuation?
• Negative Sentiment: Despite 24% revenue growth, earnings reportedly fell 22.6% as ServiceNow increased sales and engineering spending to support AI and workflow expansion. That investment may weigh on near-term margins and raise questions about where the revenue growth is translating into profit. ServiceNow Grew Revenue 24% While Earnings Fell
• Negative Sentiment: Broader technology stocks weakened late in the session, creating an additional sector-level headwind for NOW shares. Sector Update: Tech Stocks Softer Late Afternoon

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,536,615,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in ServiceNow during the 2nd quarter valued at about $712,573,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter worth about $641,888,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter worth about $627,355,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter worth about $595,157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Stock Down 1.4%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.87. The company has a market cap of $143.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 16.45% and a net margin of 11.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow, Inc is a cloud-based enterprise software company that helps organizations digitize, automate and manage workflows. Its platform connects people, processes and systems across departments, enabling businesses to replace manual, disconnected activities with standardized digital workflows.

The company’s products and services support a range of functions, including information technology service management, IT operations management, customer service, human resources, risk and security operations, and software development.