Why AI Stock ServiceNow Got Thumped on Thursday

For the second time in as many days, ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) was hit with an analyst price target cut on Thursday. That quick one-two blow leeched sentiment on the next-generation business process solutions developer, and its share price fell by more than 3%. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), meanwhile, landed in positive territory with a slight (0.1%) gain.

A bad dog?

The Thursday cut was delivered by Deutsche Bank's Brad Zelnick. He reduced his fair-value assessment of ServiceNow's equity to $1,050 per share, quite some distance from his former $1,300. He's not giving up on the company just yet, though, as he maintained his buy recommendation on the stock.

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Uncomfortably, news of this came less than 24 hours after Zelnick's peer Derrick Wood of TD Cowen made a nearly identical move. Wood, who also previously felt ServiceNow could rise to $1,300 per share, cut his level to $1,100. And like the Deutsche Bank analyst, he kept his buy recommendation intact.

The reasons for Zelnick's chop weren't immediately apparent. As for Wood, according to reports, his main concern is the "overhang" of the work being conducted by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. The company has a number of public-sector clients, and this business will probably be reduced due to DOGE's eagerness to cut federal costs.

Keep calm and carry on

With that looming, it seems the market is getting nervous about ServiceNow's upcoming earnings release (it's slated to publish its first quarter figures next Wednesday, April 23).

On the whole, analysts are expecting year-over-year growth in both revenue and profitability; the consensus estimates for the pair are $3.09 billion for the former and $3.83 per share for the latter. If achieved, this would represent improvement of 19% and 12%, respectively.

The company's government business could suffer in the worst-case scenario. However, given its rising success with the private sector, I think it'll be able to get past any slump. I'd be as bullish as Wood and Zelnick on its long-term future.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ServiceNow. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.