Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Mizuho

Block (NYSE:SQ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by analysts at Mizuho in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $99.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. Mizuho’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.05% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays increased their price target on Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.69.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $84.58 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.94 and its 200 day moving average is $62.70. Block has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.08 billion, a PE ratio of 492.94, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a return on equity of 0.63% and a net margin of 0.04%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Block will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,914 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.17, for a total value of $8,748,317.38. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 443,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,705,838.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,914 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.17, for a total transaction of $8,748,317.38. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 443,979 shares in the company, valued at $34,705,838.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,056 shares of company stock valued at $18,407,064 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position in Block by 843.2% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 89.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 67,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 38.4% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.