Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target Raised to $90.00

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Citigroup from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 23.78% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.55.

Block Trading Up 4.7 %

SQ stock traded up $3.24 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $72.71. The stock had a trading volume of 8,714,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,162,993. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $44.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.33. Block has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Block had a return on equity of 2.07% and a net margin of 2.18%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Block will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $165,958.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,972,782.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $42,180.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 477,469 shares of company stock valued at $34,963,585. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Block by 843.2% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Block in the first quarter worth $28,000. Front Row Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 67,500.0% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Block by 38.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Block during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Block

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.