Jefferies analyst Samad Samana views the Gina Mastantuono CFO appointment by ServiceNow as a positive, saying it removes uncertainty around a key senior leadership position. The company also announced that Bill McDermott has formally assumed the role of President and CEO. Resolving the leadership situation prior to year-end removes a potential overhang and allows ServiceNow to enter 2020 in a better position, Samana tells investors in a research note. The analyst keeps a Buy rating on the shares with a $280 price target.

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.