Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its target price raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.98% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.86.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock traded down $1.90 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $96.35. 4,208,026 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,257,854. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.08, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.50. Block has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.56.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total value of $759,347.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 563,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,415,854.92. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,918 shares of company stock worth $2,666,147. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its stake in Block by 139.2% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its position in Block by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 8,382 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Block by 36.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,468 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 14,363 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 48.7% during the second quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 8,157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.