Today's noteworthy initiations include: Alaska Air (ALK) initiated with a Neutral at Credit Suisse... Amira Nature Foods (ANFI) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital... Autohome (ATHM) initiated with a Buy at CLSA... Bitauto (BITA) initiated with an Outperform at CLSA... Blackbaud (BLKB) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust... Check-Cap (CHEK) initiated with a Buy at Chardan... Citrix (CTXS) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust... Helmerich & Payne (HP) initiated with an Outperform at Iberia... Hortonworks (HDP) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust... Marathon Patent Group (MARA) initiated with a Buy at Roth Capital... Marketo (MKTO) initiated with an Outperform at Bernstein... MicroStrategy (MSTR) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust... New Relic (NEWR) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust... Oracle (ORCL) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust... Qlik Technologies (QLIK) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust... ServiceNow (NOW) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust... Splunk (SPLK) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust... Tableau (DATA) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust... Teradata (TDC) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust... VMware (VMW) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust.

KeyBanc analyst Jackson Ader lowered the firm's price target on ServiceNow to $950 from $1,000 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes the quarter plainly did not beat guidance by enough to satisfy expectations, and it would include its expectations in that assessment as well. The headline numbers on revenue and margin aren't the problem; "it was the non-revenue top-line metrics that catch our eye," says KeyBanc. Current billings was an outright miss, but the firm understands that invoicing patterns and timing swing this around more so than getting ink on paper for contracted obligations. Still, not great.

UBS lowered the firm's price target on ServiceNow to $875 from $920 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. ServiceNow is still in rarified territory by growing more than 20% with 400 basis points of year over year margin expansion, but this print fell a bit short of expectations, the analyst tells investors in a research note. This print in a seasonally light 1Q quarter isn't likely to be a thesis-changer for most, UBS contends.

Check out this evening's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. HIGHER AFTER EARNINGSImpinj (PI) up... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Sees 2024 subscription gross profit margin 84.5%, income from operations margin 29%.

Sees Q2 cRPO growth 20.5% year-over-year.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Notable companies reporting after the market close, with earnings consensus, include Meta Plataforms (META), consensus $4.32... IBM (IBM), consensus $1.60... ServiceNow (NOW), consensus $3.14... Lam Research (LRCX), consensus $7.30... Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), consensus $11.68... O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), consensus $9.26... Ford Motor (F), consensus 42c... United Rentals (URI), consensus $8.32... Align Technology (ALGN), consensus $1.97... Molina Healthcare (MOH), consensus $5.59... Teradyne (TER), consensus 33c... Universa Health Services (UHS), consensus $3.16... Western Union (WU), consensus 41c.

Vertex (VERX) announced that it has been selected to join the Oracle Independent Software Vendor, ISV, Accelerator for SaaS Initiative. With expertise in Oracle (ORCL) Cloud Fusion Cloud Applications integrations, Vertex continues to leverage the power of contract and tax data to optimize customer operations and outcomes. "Building on our longstanding relationship with Oracle, we are thrilled to join the Oracle ISV Accelerator," said Bradd Wildstein, Vice President, Indirect Sales at Vertex, Inc. "Through this partnership, Vertex can now enhance our customers' finance and sales processes by integrating essential tax solutions into Oracle Fusion Applications. It's more than just data integration - it's about unifying disparate functions, streamlining operations, and amplifying benefits for our mutual customers."

Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said the company is moving its world headquarters to Nashville, Tennessee, Ashley Capoot of CNBC reports. Ellison said Oracle is moving to a "huge campus" and it is closer to "the center of the industry we're most concerned about, which is the health-care industry." Reference Link