Block (NYSE:SQ) Raised to “Outperform” at Oppenheimer

Block (NYSE:SQ) was upgraded by analysts at Oppenheimer from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $115.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 31.73% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on SQ. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.33.

Block Stock Down 7.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $87.30 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.26 and its 200 day moving average is $71.10. The company has a market cap of $54.11 billion, a PE ratio of 49.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. Block has a 1 year low of $55.00 and a 1 year high of $99.26.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $123,232.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,605,124.74. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,918 shares of company stock worth $2,666,147 in the last 90 days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Block by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $110,891,000 after acquiring an additional 8,200 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Block by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $72,709,000 after purchasing an additional 128,832 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of Block by 1.5% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $686,948,000 after buying an additional 147,873 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 6.2% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 253,787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,037,000 after buying an additional 14,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 13.9% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after acquiring an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.