ServiceNow Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NOW)

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 52,628 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 31% compared to the typical volume of 40,100 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NOW shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday. DZ Bank raised ServiceNow to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $180.00 price objective on ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $263.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Macquarie lowered their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $172.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ServiceNow presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.79.

ServiceNow Trading Down 9.8%

NYSE NOW opened at $116.87 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $150.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.41. ServiceNow has a 12 month low of $113.13 and a 12 month high of $211.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $121.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The information technology services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. ServiceNow had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. ServiceNow’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ServiceNow will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat revenue and EPS estimates and management highlighted accelerating AI adoption (Now Assist usage, strong enterprise deals). NOW Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized an additional $5 billion repurchase program (including $2B accelerated), which should support EPS and offset dilution. Q4 Results & $5B Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded AI partnerships (Anthropic, OpenAI) and new large customer deployments (Fiserv, Panasonic) reinforce long‑term AI monetization potential. ServiceNow inks Anthropic deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms reaffirm buy/overweight ratings (DA Davidson, Cantor Fitzgerald, BTIG, Needham, UBS) even as some adjust targets — showing conviction but varied views on valuation. Analyst coverage roundup
• Neutral Sentiment: Company reiterated a bullish 2026 outlook overall, but guidance contained nuances investors parsed closely (subscription revenue growth guidance mid-to-high teens vs. prior pace). Q4 release & guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Investors reacted to guidance that implies a modest deceleration in subscription growth (management guided ~19.5%–20.0% subscription growth for 2026), prompting concern about acceleration. ServiceNow guides to steeper slowdown
• Negative Sentiment: Wider market fear of AI disruption and a selloff in software names amplified the move; major headlines flagged a sectorwide slide and “bear market” language. US software stocks slide
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets (KeyCorp cut to $115/underweight, Macquarie cut to $140, others trimmed targets), adding downward pressure despite some buy ratings. Analyst target cuts

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 2,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.60, for a total transaction of $336,936.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 63,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,215,544. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin Thomas Mcbride sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.50, for a total transaction of $235,894.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,257,893.92. This trade represents a 5.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,310 shares of company stock worth $2,533,585 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 404.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,963,384 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $15,619,771,000 after buying an additional 81,752,460 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in ServiceNow by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,454,699 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $8,700,970,000 after acquiring an additional 131,080 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in ServiceNow by 388.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,706,164 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $720,325,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743,087 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,574,563 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,684,445,000 after purchasing an additional 88,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 613.4% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,840,262 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $588,326,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301,962 shares during the period. 87.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.