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ServiceNow (NOW) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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ServiceNow (NOW - Free Report) closed at $586.18 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.64% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.02%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of software that automates companies' technology operations had gained 4.46% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.01% in that time.

NOW will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 28, 2021. In that report, analysts expect NOW to post earnings of $1.20 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 2.44%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.36 billion, up 26.76% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.50 per share and revenue of $5.72 billion. These totals would mark changes of +18.79% and +26.57%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for NOW. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.09% higher within the past month. NOW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Investors should also note NOW's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 104.9. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 31.14, so we one might conclude that NOW is trading at a premium comparatively.

Meanwhile, NOW's PEG ratio is currently 3.77. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. NOW's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.81 as of yesterday's close.

The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 168, putting it in the bottom 34% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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