ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

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.

The information technology services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $1,050.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on ServiceNow from $900.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on ServiceNow in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $1,332.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and set a $716.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of ServiceNow from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ServiceNow has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,117.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In other news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 66 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,048.29, for a total transaction of $69,187.14. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,173,173.83. This represents a 2.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin Thomas Mcbride sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.97, for a total transaction of $102,397.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,539,864.29. This trade represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,731 shares of company stock valued at $21,016,751. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NOW. Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new stake in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth $516,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 124,293 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $131,765,000 after buying an additional 7,848 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,161 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC acquired a new stake in ServiceNow in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ServiceNow by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 269 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Trading Down 11.1 %

The company has a market cap of $209.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.91, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,085.21 and its 200-day simple moving average 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.