ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Shares Down 9.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) shares fell 9.8% on Thursday after Macquarie lowered their price target on the stock from $172.00 to $140.00. Macquarie currently has a neutral rating on the stock. ServiceNow traded as low as $113.13 and last traded at $116.8670. 54,867,526 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 253% from the average session volume of 15,551,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.62.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $225.00 target price on ServiceNow and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Guggenheim raised ServiceNow from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $200.00 price objective on ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 470 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.42, for a total value of $77,745.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at $2,503,571.16. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence Jackson sold 1,325 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.04, for a total transaction of $214,708.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,701.06. This trade represents a 45.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 15,310 shares of company stock valued at $2,533,585 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More ServiceNow News

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — EPS and revenue topped street estimates and subscription revenue grew >20%, showing continued demand and AI adoption. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a $5B buyback (including $2B accelerated), which is supportive for EPS and signals management confidence. Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI product traction and partnerships (Anthropic, OpenAI integrations) underpin longer-term growth potential and enterprise adoption. AI Partnerships
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed: several firms (DA Davidson, Cantor, BTIG, Needham) reiterated/maintained buy or overweight ratings and raised/kept targets, while others cut targets or downgraded — leaving a wide range of price targets and sentiment dispersion. Analyst Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options volume was reported, indicating speculative/moderately aggressive trading that can amplify intraday moves (uncertain directional implication). Options Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance signaled a slowdown: management forecast subscription growth for FY26 that implies deceleration from 2025 levels — investors viewed this as a notable deceleration risk. Guidance/Slowdown
• Negative Sentiment: Broader sector and AI disruption fears triggered a sell-off in software names; commentary highlighted multiple compression and concerns competition from new AI entrants could hurt growth/valuation. Sector/AI Fears
• Negative Sentiment: Some firms cut price targets sharply (KeyCorp to $115, Macquarie to $140), reflecting concern over valuation and near‑term execution — that contributed to downward pressure. Price Target Cuts

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServiceNow

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,753 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 837 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in ServiceNow by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in ServiceNow by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 418 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in ServiceNow by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,708 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $54,188,000 after purchasing an additional 8,976 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ServiceNow Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.21 billion, a PE ratio of 69.98, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The information technology services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. ServiceNow had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 18.54%. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is a cloud computing company that builds enterprise software to manage digital workflows and automate business processes. Its offerings are designed to replace manual work and legacy systems with cloud-based, service-oriented applications that support IT operations, customer service, human resources, security response and other enterprise functions.

The company’s flagship product family is the Now Platform, a suite of subscription software and platform services that includes IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations Management (ITOM), IT Business Management (ITBM), Customer Service Management (CSM), HR Service Delivery, Security Operations and Asset Management.