Analysts Set Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Target Price at $85.67

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-four analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and twenty-eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $85.67.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SQ. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of SQ stock opened at $72.80 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.90. Block has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $87.52. The stock has a market cap of $44.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 442.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a return on equity of 0.63% and a net margin of 0.04%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the 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 $165,958.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 201,754 shares in the company, valued at $12,972,782.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 10.4% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,222,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,112,000 after buying an additional 115,132 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its stake in Block by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 261,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Block during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Block by 16.1% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,373,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,807,000 after purchasing an additional 190,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $359,000. 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.