Analysts Like Outlook From ServiceNow

ServiceNow Inc (NYSE: NOW) shares climbed on the day after it beat fourth-quarter Street views and offered a higher-than-expected outlook.

The software company gained more than 7 percent, closing at $73.88 a share.

ServiceNow is a darling among analysts, with 22 of the 25 tracked by FactSet maintaining Buy ratings, versus three with Hold ratings.

Citi's Walter H. Pritchard called it "our favorite hyper-growth name" Thursday, while Morgan Stanley's Jennifer Swanson Lowe said ServiceNow "is one of the strongest stories" in in the so-called software-as-a-service sector.

Lowe maintained an Overweight rating and $80 target while Pritchard kept his Buy rating and $84 price objective.

D.A. Davison's Jack Andrews said the company added new customers during the recent fourth quarter at its fastest pace in five years even as its business with existing customers grew more valuable.

Andrews maintained a Buy rating and $80 target.

The company's recent net loss widened to $0.30 a share, from $0.17 a year earlier, while it swung to an adjusted profit of $0.03, from a loss of $0.02 last year.

Revenue for the recent period increased 58 percent to $198 million.

ServiceNow predicted that 2015 revenue will increase between 41 percent and 47 percent to between $960 million and $1 billion.

With a third of revenue obtained internationally, currency exchange will reduce results by $13 million, the company said.