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ServiceNow (NOW) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider

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The most recent trading session ended with ServiceNow (NOW - Free Report) standing at $861.38, reflecting a +1.37% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.01%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.46%.

Coming into today, shares of the maker of software that automates companies' technology operations had lost 8.39% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 5.94%, while the S&P 500 lost 3.59%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of ServiceNow in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, ServiceNow is projected to report earnings of $3.78 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 10.85%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $3.09 billion, indicating a 18.55% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $16.22 per share and revenue of $13.04 billion, which would represent changes of +16.52% and +18.69%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for ServiceNow. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.08% lower. ServiceNow is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

From a valuation perspective, ServiceNow is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 52.39. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 22.36 of its industry.

We can additionally observe that NOW currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.18. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Computers - IT Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.03.

The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 78, this industry ranks in the top 32% of all industries, numbering over 250.

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

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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