ServiceNow Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NOW)

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 168,241 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 37% compared to the typical daily volume of 122,717 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NOW. Citic Securities dropped their price objective on ServiceNow from $168.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $157.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America began coverage on ServiceNow in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp set a $85.00 price objective on ServiceNow and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.85.

Key Stories Impacting ServiceNow

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow extended gains as investors viewed the stock as deeply undervalued versus GuruFocus’s GF Value estimate, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the name. A Look at ServiceNow Inc (NOW) After 6.5% Gain — GF Value $225.42 vs Price $108.73
• Positive Sentiment: Wipro announced a deeper partnership with ServiceNow to automate enterprise workflows and embed agentic AI capabilities, which could support longer-term platform adoption and AI revenue opportunities. Wipro and ServiceNow deepen AI partnership to automate enterprise workflows
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary highlighted ServiceNow’s Q1 results as a sign of resilience, with revenue growth around 22% and earnings meeting expectations, while institutional buying and elevated analyst targets continue to support the stock. ServiceNow (NOW) Stock Analysis: Evaluating the Investment Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for further upside, but it may also reflect short-term speculation rather than fundamental conviction.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on ServiceNow’s presentation at a software and AI conference and on broader automation-software comparisons, which appear more informational than immediately market-moving.
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage flagged rising AI competition and questioned whether ServiceNow can sustain growth, a reminder that investors are still watching how effectively the company defends its AI and enterprise software positioning. Can ServiceNow Sustain Its Growth Amid Rising AI Competition?

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 8,927 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.60, for a total transaction of $799,859.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 29,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,645,977.60. This trade represents a 23.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.51, for a total value of $103,238.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,212.72. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,071 shares of company stock worth $2,529,956. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of ServiceNow by 411.7% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 47,955 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $7,346,000 after acquiring an additional 38,583 shares during the period. Cohen Klingenstein LLC grew its position in shares of ServiceNow by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Cohen Klingenstein LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of ServiceNow by 385.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,599,397 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $398,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064,440 shares during the period. Torray Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of ServiceNow by 390.5% during the 4th quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 40,629 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,224,000 after acquiring an additional 32,345 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of ServiceNow by 280.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 8,432,389 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,291,758,000 after acquiring an additional 6,213,762 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

NOW opened at $108.58 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $97.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.73. ServiceNow has a 1 year low of $81.24 and a 1 year high of $211.48. The company has a market capitalization of $111.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.97. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 12.59%.The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that ServiceNow will post 2.35 EPS 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.