ServiceNow (NOW) closed the most recent trading day at $666.31, moving +0.31% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.15% gain on the day.

Heading into today, shares of the maker of software that automates companies' technology operations had gained 6.44% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 0.81% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.58% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from NOW as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, NOW is projected to report earnings of $1.38 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 14.05%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.48 billion, up 28.06% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.80 per share and revenue of $5.83 billion. These totals would mark changes of +25.27% and +28.97%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for NOW. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.52% higher. NOW is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In terms of valuation, NOW is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 114.57. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 34.8, so we one might conclude that NOW is trading at a premium comparatively.

Meanwhile, NOW's PEG ratio is currently 4.07. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Computers - IT Services industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.05 as of yesterday's close.

The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 218, which puts it in the bottom 15% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow NOW in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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