ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock Price Down 1.9% – Time to Sell?

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)’s share price dropped 1.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $977.63 and last traded at $978.85. Approximately 416,398 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,601,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $997.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on NOW. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on ServiceNow from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $1,250.00 to $1,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $1,230.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,432.00 to $1,426.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,129.72.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,065.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $975.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.99. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 research analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nicholas Tzitzon sold 313 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,064.60, for a total transaction of $333,219.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,884,725.40. This represents a 7.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 415 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,007.41, for a total value of $418,075.15. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,749,871.17. The trade was a 19.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,811 shares of company stock worth $11,159,073 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServiceNow

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in ServiceNow by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 597 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in ServiceNow by 205.8% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 994 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in ServiceNow by 59.5% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 662 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ServiceNow by 19.3% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 44 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.