ServiceNow (NOW) Stock Rises as Barclays Sees 49% Upside – Here’s Why

TLDR

• ServiceNow stock rose ~2.5% in after-hours trading, lifted by Atlassian’s strong earnings boosting sentiment across enterprise software.
• Q1 2026 revenue came in at $3.77 billion, up 22.1% year-over-year, with EPS hitting analyst estimates at $0.97.
• Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow holds a Buy rating with a $132 price target, implying ~49% upside from current levels.
• The stock has fallen sharply from its 12-month high of $211.48 and opened Friday at $88.40, still near its 52-week low of $81.24.
• Wall Street remains bullish overall, with 32 Buy ratings out of 37 analyst reviews and an average price target of $138.06.

ServiceNow (NOW) stock is getting a lift in after-hours trading, up around 2.5%, after Atlassian posted strong earnings that improved sentiment across the enterprise software space. The move comes after a rough stretch for NOW, which has dropped sharply from its 12-month high of $211.48 and opened Friday at $88.40 — not far above its 52-week low of $81.24.

ServiceNow, Inc., NOW

Q1 2026 results, reported April 22nd, were broadly solid. Revenue came in at $3.77 billion, ahead of the $3.75 billion consensus, and up 22.1% year-over-year. EPS matched estimates at $0.97. But investors zeroed in on the negatives: delays in large deals, particularly in the Middle East, and rising costs tied to AI investments and recent acquisitions. That combination hit margin expectations and sent the stock lower.

The reaction looked overdone to some on Wall Street.

Barclays Stands Firm

Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow is pushing back on the more bearish take. He argues the Q1 miss on deal timing reflects seasonal patterns and macro noise rather than any structural issue with the business.

He also dismissed disruption fears, calling NOW “one of the best-positioned software names” and arguing its deep integration into enterprise IT workflows makes it a natural beneficiary of AI adoption rather than a casualty of it.

Lenschow holds a Buy rating with a $132 price target, implying roughly 49% upside from where the stock currently sits. He does acknowledge near-term caution is likely, with the stock potentially staying range-bound until there’s clearer evidence of AI monetization. An upcoming analyst day and stronger AI product contributions later in 2026 are the catalysts he’s watching.

Wall Street Still Bullish

Broader analyst sentiment remains firmly positive. Of 37 analysts covering NOW, 32 have a Buy rating, 4 a Hold, and just 1 a Sell. The average 12-month price target sits at $138.06, implying around 56% upside from current levels.

Citigroup raised its target to $158 while maintaining a Buy. Raymond James trimmed from $160 to $130 but kept an Outperform. KeyCorp went the other way, setting an $85 price target with an Underweight rating.

On the institutional side, Danske Bank raised its position in NOW by 506.7% in Q4, acquiring an additional 699,633 shares. Institutional investors now hold around 87% of the stock.

Insider activity tells a slightly different story. Jacqueline Canney sold 8,927 shares at an average of $89.60 on April 24th, reducing her position by 23.21%. In total, insiders sold 25,164 shares worth approximately $2.5 million over the past three months.

The stock carries a P/E ratio of 52.68 and a 200-day moving average of $135.26, well above where it’s currently trading. Management raised its subscription revenue outlook following Q1, pointing to AI-driven monetization as a key driver heading into the rest of 2026.

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