Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-four brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and twenty-eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.67.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SQ. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Block from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE SQ opened at $71.61 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $44.09 billion, a PE ratio of 414.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 2.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $76.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.58. Block has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Block will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total value of $328,762.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 193,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,231,257.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total transaction of $328,762.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,231,257.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175 over the last three months. 10.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospect Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the 1st quarter valued at $210,000. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 6,603 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 17,374 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 6,290 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,644 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Block by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 470,618 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,805,000 after purchasing an additional 50,513 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently 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.