Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Price Up 8.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) shares traded up 8.4% during trading on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $80.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Block traded as high as $80.90 and last traded at $80.86. 4,596,769 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 8,016,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.56.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 21st. New Street Research started coverage on Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.37.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $90,968.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,885,112. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $90,968.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at $5,885,112. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $388,920.55. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares in the company, valued at $16,742,652.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,714 shares of company stock valued at $1,606,992 over the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SouthState Corp grew its holdings in shares of Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the first quarter worth $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter worth $46,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Stock Up 11.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $51.35 billion, a PE ratio of 46.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.86 and a 200-day moving average of $66.92.

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.