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ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) shares edged up by 1% Thursday amid mild reaction to the business-automation software company’s fourth-quarter results and outlook.
Late Wednesday, ServiceNow (NOW) reported a profit of $2.28 a share, excluding one-time items, on revenue of $1.94B for the quarter ending December 31. Wall Street analysts had expected ServiceNow (NOW) to earn $2.02 a share on $1.94B in sales for the quarter.
The company’s results were highlighted by subscription revenue of $1.86B, an increase of 27.5% from the final quarter in 2021. ServiceNow (NOW) also said it expects its first-quarter subscription revenue to be between $1.99B and $2B, which would represent growth of as much as 22.5% from the year-ago period.
At Stifel, analyst Brad Reback left his buy rating on ServiceNow’s (NOW) stock unchanged, but raised his price target to $495 a share from $475. Reback said the company was continuing with “its enterprise outperformance” and that its outlook is factoring in “a high degree of overall conservatism in line with forecasts the company was using early on in COVID.”
Mizuho Securities analyst Gregg Moskowitz was upbeat about ServiceNow (NOW) following its results, and said the company was “well positioned for high growth over the next few years, fueled in part by ongoing demand for workflow automation.”
Moskowitz left his buy rating and $500-a-share price target on ServiceNow’s (NOW) stock unchanged. Wall Street analysts and Seeking Alpha authors both have consensus buy ratings on Service Now’s (NOW) stock. Seeking Alpha’s Quant System, which historically outperforms the stock market, gives ServiceNow’s (NOW) shares a rating of hold.