NOW Stock Draws Price Target Hikes After Q2 Beat – Bernstein Sees ‘Relief’ While UBS Warns Of ‘Mixed Demand’

• Bernstein called the quarter "much-needed relief" and raised its price target to $248, the highest among major brokerages.
• JPMorgan said the results "eased concerns on software companies" and highlighted ServiceNow's growing enterprise AI position.
• UBS maintained a cautious stance, saying underlying demand "remains mixed" despite the earnings beat and higher guidance.

Shares of ServiceNow (NOW) edged lower in midday trading Wednesday, despite a beat-and-raise second quarter, even as Wall Street analysts broadly welcomed the enterprise software company's results with a fresh round of price target hikes.

However, Wall Street’s optimism was not unanimous. UBS lowered its price target to $110 from $115, while maintaining a 'Neutral' rating as per TheFly. Citi also trimmed its price target slightly to $154 from $156, while reiterating a 'Buy' rating.

UBS said the post-earnings rally in pre-market was justified by stable execution and a modest guidance increase, but stated that underlying demand "remains mixed." It described the quarter as "solid rather than a meaningful acceleration."

NOW stock slipped about 1.3% amid a broader technology-sector selloff, extending its rout to three days of trading in the red. It remained one of the top trending tickers on Stocktwits.

Retail sentiment improved to 'extremely bullish' from 'bullish' territory over the past day, while chatter climbed to 'extremely high' from 'high' levels. Platform data showed message volume surged more than 700% in the last 24 hours.

Wall Street Raises Price Targets After Q2

Bernstein raised its target to $248 from $236, the highest among the firms that updated estimates, and reiterated an 'Outperform' rating. The brokerage stated the quarter as "much-needed relief" after first-quarter (Q1) results had raised questions about ServiceNow's ability to consistently deliver beat-and-raise quarters.

JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee also increased his price target to $150 from $145 and maintained an 'Overweight' rating. He said the results "eased concerns on software companies" more broadly and argued that ServiceNow continues to strengthen its position with enterprise customers through its AI Control Tower platform and workflow orchestration capabilities.

Baird also lifted its target to $125 from $118, while Evercore ISI raised its target to $160 from $150, with both firms maintaining 'Outperform' ratings.

AI Demand Remains The Key Growth Driver

Many analysts pointed to AI adoption as the primary driver behind ServiceNow's momentum, though some cautioned that parts of the quarter benefited from favorable timing.

Jefferies raised its price target to $140 from $135, noting that subscription revenue and current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) were helped in part by deal timing. However, the firm added that stronger net-new annual contract value also contributed meaningfully to the outperformance.

BMO Capital raised its target to $118 from $115 and maintained an 'Outperform' rating, noting that ServiceNow outperformed expectations despite investor concerns around enterprise spending and longer sales cycles. However, it noted that some of the upside reflected a "richer sales mix" rather than broad-based pricing gains, something investors will likely continue monitoring in coming quarters.

NOW’s stock has fallen nearly 40% this year and dropped over 50% in the last 12 months. 

Read also: AAL Stock Drops After $2.2B Fuel Costs Spark Full-Year Guidance Cut Despite Q2 Beat

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com