Block (NYSE:SQ) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $90.00 to $92.00. The stock had previously closed at $70.30, but opened at $76.49. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Block shares last traded at $72.10, with a volume of 8,631,000 shares trading hands.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $88.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $7,679,410.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 603,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 603,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585 in the last quarter. 10.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Block by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,222,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,112,000 after purchasing an additional 115,132 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in shares of Block by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 261,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the 4th quarter worth $213,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Block by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,373,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,807,000 after acquiring an additional 190,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter worth $359,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Trading Down 1.2 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a PE ratio of 90.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 2.57.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a return on equity of 2.07% and a net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

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.