ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $1,143.63, but opened at $1,027.12. ServiceNow shares last traded at $1,003.73, with a volume of 1,028,040 shares trading hands.

The information technology services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by ($1.74). ServiceNow had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 12.77%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOW shares. Scotiabank began coverage on ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $1,230.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on ServiceNow from $906.00 to $913.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,210.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,129.93.

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

In other ServiceNow news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 76 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.94, for a total value of $76,831.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,060,115.38. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Anita M. Sands sold 2,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,064.60, for a total value of $2,372,993.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,710,600. This trade represents a 16.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,731 shares of company stock worth $21,016,751. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOW. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 2,457 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,605,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company raised its position in ServiceNow by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 1,921 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC boosted its position in ServiceNow by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 5,132 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $5,441,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ServiceNow during the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in ServiceNow by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $208.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,085.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $952.30.

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.