Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Receives $87.13 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and twenty-eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $87.33.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SQ shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Block Price Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $68.74 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Block has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.27, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 2.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.32. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.04%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.75 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Block will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $7,679,410.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 603,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $7,679,410.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $483,712.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,886 shares in the company, valued at $20,158,456.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,673 shares of company stock worth $9,188,222 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Block by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 18,111 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in Block by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,934 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Block by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 208,339 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,224,000 after acquiring an additional 9,009 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Block by 435.9% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 23,292 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 18,946 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. 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.