NOW
Merit hit the buy button hard
ServiceNow got a fresh vote of confidence from Merit Financial Group LLC, which boosted its stake by 563.2% in Q4. The firm now owns 39,969 shares worth about $6.12 million, because apparently one fund manager looked at ServiceNow and thought, “Yeah, I’ll take more of that.”
The bigger whale in the room
Merit is just one piece of the puzzle. The article says institutional investors collectively own 87.18% of ServiceNow, so this isn’t exactly a lonely retail story — it’s more like a very crowded boardroom where the biggest players keep sliding their chairs closer to the table.
But sentiment isn’t all champagne
There’s a catch: insiders sold 16,237 shares last quarter, roughly $1.7 million worth, leaving insiders with just 0.34% ownership. Meanwhile, several brokerages have trimmed price targets, which means the stock is getting the classic Wall Street treatment: a compliment wrapped in a haircut.
Why investors should care
ServiceNow already beat Q4 estimates, with EPS of $0.92 versus $0.89 expected and revenue of $3.57 billion, up 20.7% year over year. But the market still wants the next clue — especially Q1 guidance — to figure out whether this is just a good quarter or the beginning of the next leg higher.
Big picture: Merit’s move says the smart-money crowd still sees something to like, but the stock’s next move probably depends less on who bought in Q4 and more on whether management can keep the growth engine humming.