Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Price Down 5.1%

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)’s stock price dropped 5.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $67.82 and last traded at $67.89. Approximately 1,239,376 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 9,677,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SQ. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research raised Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.59.

Block Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $41.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.57, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.73.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.32. Block had a return on equity of 2.04% and a net margin of 2.18%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 443,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,705,838.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.17, for a total transaction of $8,748,317.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 443,979 shares in the company, valued at $34,705,838.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,790,374.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 359,653 shares of company stock worth $27,333,065. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SQ. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Block by 17.8% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 58,991 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,989,000 after purchasing an additional 8,926 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Block during the first quarter worth $2,842,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the first quarter worth $34,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Block in the first quarter valued at $518,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Block by 587.8% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,547 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after buying an additional 12,432 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.