In the latest trading session, ServiceNow (NOW) closed at $132.53, marking a +1.04% move from the previous day. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.86%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.98%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.96%.
Heading into today, shares of the maker of software that automates companies' technology operations had gained 3.08% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.56% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.96%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of ServiceNow in its forthcoming earnings report. In that report, analysts expect ServiceNow to post earnings of $1.03 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 7.29%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.1 billion, up 20.27% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.06 per share and revenue of $16.2 billion, which would represent changes of +15.67% and +22.02%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for ServiceNow. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Currently, ServiceNow is carrying a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that ServiceNow has a Forward P/E ratio of 32.3 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 13.32.
We can also see that NOW currently has a PEG ratio of 1.32. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Computers - IT Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.32 at yesterday's closing price.
The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 159, this industry ranks in the bottom 36% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
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ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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