Benchmark Supports ServiceNow(NOW.US): After AI panic caused misjudgment, a bottom-fishing opportunity emerges; stock price is expected to rise up to $125

Zhitong Finance APP learned that investment bank Benchmark initiated coverage of ServiceNow (NOW.US) for the first time, issuing a “Buy” rating with a target price of $125. This target price implies about a 20% upside from the stock’s Wednesday closing price of $104.04.

Analyst Yi Fu Lee said: “We’re launching coverage of ServiceNow, assigning a ‘Buy’ rating and a $125 target price, because its cloud architecture platform can seamlessly integrate artificial intelligence (AI), data, security, and automated workflow processes, unlocking the potential for efficient enterprise collaboration through digital transformation. We believe the market’s punishment of ServiceNow lacks a reasonable basis. The stock has fallen about 45% since its January 2025 peak, which may have been driven primarily by concerns about the impact of AI/Generative AI (GenAI) and the expansion of acquisition-related spending over the past year. We believe ServiceNow is one of the beneficiaries of the Agentic AI supercycle, and we think patient investors should take advantage of this market selloff opportunity to gradually build positions in this high-quality, profit-capable growth-stage SaaS company.”

The analyst believes that as AI token gradually get embedded from the pilot stage into everyday mission-critical workflow processes or operational workflows, ServiceNow—a trusted platform—will gain room for upside. The analyst added that ServiceNow’s success factors come from its flexible open architecture, which enables cloud neutrality and supports large language models (LLM), diverse data sources, and broad systems integration capabilities.

The analyst said: “We believe there is a symbiotic relationship between AI/leading LLM providers and ServiceNow, and both sides need each other to improve the probability of shared success. ServiceNow has built a smart ‘universal mouse trap.’ Whether customers are building systems on other platforms and managing security through ServiceNow’s AI Control Tower, or directly adopting its IT service platform, companies can all benefit.”

The analyst added that because the selloff triggered by concerns over the impact of AI/Generative AI is unfounded, it instead provides an attractive entry opportunity. The analyst believes ServiceNow has strategically positioned itself as a trusted operational platform for managing workflows of organizations worldwide, and can coordinate with leading AI/leading LLM providers to deploy AI agents securely across the globe.

In addition, the analyst said that the busy 2025 M&A schedule is reinforcing ServiceNow’s technology roadmap and expanding its total addressable market (TAM). The analyst said: “The acquisitions of Armis/Veza strengthen its security portfolio, the acquisition of Moveworks enhances AI assistant and search capabilities, and the acquisition of Logik.io adds capabilities for CPQ—configuration, pricing, and quoting. We believe ServiceNow’s cybersecurity segment in its product portfolio is essentially ready, and it may continue to pursue strengthening acquisitions to broaden its breadth across talent, technology, and TAM expansion, making its potential market size exceed $600 billion. ” The analyst also said it is bullish on ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott and its leadership team.