StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Block (NYSE:SQ)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a research note published on Saturday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Macquarie boosted their target price on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.10.

Block Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $53.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $99.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,781 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $162,836.83. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 86,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,863,894.30. This trade represents a 2.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $129,953.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,955,057.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,017 shares of company stock worth $2,364,065 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Block by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Block by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the third quarter valued at $46,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Company Profile

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.