Block’s (SQ) Positive Rating Reaffirmed at Susquehanna

Susquehanna reaffirmed their positive rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a $100.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $88.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup lifted 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, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Block from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Block currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $85.67.

Block Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $71.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $44.09 billion, a PE ratio of 414.23, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 2.55. Block has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $87.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $76.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.58.

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

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175 over the last quarter. Insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth approximately $528,996,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in Block by 3,525.7% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,935,002 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $459,072,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771,310 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in Block in the third quarter worth $172,001,000. Trivest Advisors Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth $157,021,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Block by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,192,701 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,799,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,043 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.