Block (NYSE:SQ) Upgraded at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $115.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas cut Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.94.

Block Trading Up 6.2 %

NYSE:SQ opened at $92.16 on Friday. Block has a 52-week low of $55.00 and a 52-week high of $99.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.19. The company has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a PE ratio of 51.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,325. This trade represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at $7,103,280. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,599 shares of company stock worth $2,120,494 over the last quarter. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Block by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,891,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Block by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,709,000 after buying an additional 128,832 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew 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 worth $686,948,000 after buying an additional 147,873 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in Block by 13.9% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $494,672,000 after acquiring an additional 934,588 shares in the last quarter. 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.