ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,100,000 shares, an increase of 22.4% from the February 28th total of 3,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on ServiceNow from $1,200.00 to $1,010.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on ServiceNow from $1,230.00 to $1,050.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,175.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ServiceNow has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,087.21.

Insider Transactions at ServiceNow

In related news, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 1,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,019.10, for a total transaction of $1,287,123.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,564.50. The trade was a 32.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Russell S. Elmer sold 2,511 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,012.09, for a total value of $2,541,357.99. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 4,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,373.88. This trade represents a 36.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,351 shares of company stock valued at $20,050,076 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank acquired a new position in ServiceNow during the third quarter worth about $480,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,555 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Atom Investors LP grew its position in shares of ServiceNow by 20.0% in the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 1,339 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 2,963.8% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 9,988 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $8,934,000 after purchasing an additional 9,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 404.2% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,906 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Price Performance

Shares of NOW stock traded down $1.09 on Wednesday, reaching $810.47. 197,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,413,251. ServiceNow has a 1 year low of $637.99 and a 1 year high of $1,198.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $939.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $983.75. The company has a market cap of $166.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.03.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.67. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 12.97%. Equities research analysts forecast that ServiceNow will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.