New York, Feb 18, 2026, 14:31 (ET) — Regular session
- ServiceNow shares gained roughly 1% in afternoon trading following a new SEC filing detailing insider trading plans.
- CEO Bill McDermott put down $3 million for shares on Feb. 27, while a handful of senior executives exited their 10b5-1 trading plans.
- Traders are waiting to see the follow-up Form 4 after the planned purchase goes through.
ServiceNow picked up roughly 1% by midafternoon Wednesday, with investors reacting to news of an insider purchase disclosed in a regulatory filing. Shares last traded at $106.98 as of 2:31 p.m. ET, having swung from $103.55 to $108.03 earlier in the session.
The update follows the workflow software firm’s disclosure that Chief Executive Bill McDermott will purchase $3 million worth of stock. At the same time, some top executives have halted their preset share sale plans.
The stock’s been sagging alongside other software names, and in this kind of market, traders seize on insider moves as potential signals as they hunt for a bottom.
A scheduled open-market purchase has the potential to alter the immediate supply narrative. Scrapped sale plans don’t prevent selling altogether, but they do eliminate one source of steady trades that might otherwise weigh on a stock.
ServiceNow, in a Form 8-K filing, said it received notice that President Bill McDermott, CFO Gina Mastantuono, Vice Chairman Nicholas Tzitzon, Chief People and AI Enablement Officer Jacqueline Canney, and Special Counsel Russell Elmer all terminated their Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, scrapping previously scheduled stock sales. The company also revealed a brokered agreement for McDermott to pick up $3 million worth of common shares on Feb. 27, buying at whatever the market price is that day. That’s as soon as he can purchase without running afoul of short-swing profit rules under Section 16. ServiceNow added it will report the transaction in a Form 4. (Securities and Exchange Commission)
McDermott called the $3M buy a show of personal faith. “I’m investing $3M of my own money because I have absolute conviction in the value we’re building,” he said. “There is no better entry point I can imagine.” ServiceNow has dropped nearly 30% so far this year, with shares sitting about 50% below last summer’s peak around $211, Barron’s reported. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF isn’t faring much better, off about 20% year-to-date. (Barron’s)
ServiceNow slipped 1.09% to finish Tuesday at $105.91. (Yahoo Finance)
Rule 10b5-1 plans set up scheduled trades for executives, designed to deflect concerns about trading on inside information. Shutting down such plans can clear out some of the expected selling pressure, though it doesn’t guarantee insiders will keep their shares.
Next up: the mechanical step. Will the Feb. 27 purchase actually go through, and at what price? The subsequent Form 4 filing is set to reveal the precise details of the trade and when it took place.
Insiders, though, have a habit of jumping in ahead of the curve. Should the software slump worsen or clients start tightening IT budgets, one open-market buy isn’t likely to halt falling shares — especially with the purchase not scheduled for over a week.
Investors are tracking how the stock handles the close, with eyes on Feb. 27 and the expected Form 4 to verify McDermott’s $3 million purchase.
