Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their outperform rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $90.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

SQ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Block from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $87.55.

Block Trading Up 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $73.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.57. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.61 and its 200 day moving average is $68.53. Block has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 year high of $87.52.

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

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 201,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,972,782.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 477,469 shares of company stock valued at $34,963,585. 10.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in Block by 1.3% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc raised its holdings in Block by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Block by 25.4% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Block by 3.4% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, CAP Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 3.5% during the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.