Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ – Get Rating)’s share price rose 6% on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $117.00 to $120.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Block traded as high as $63.88 and last traded at $63.73. Approximately 163,950 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 99% from the average daily volume of 17,591,385 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.11.
Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Block from $134.00 to $114.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Block from $150.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 20th. Atlantic Securities reduced their price objective on Block from $110.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. Evercore ISI downgraded Block from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 14th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Block in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.02.
Insider Transactions at Block
In related news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.20, for a total transaction of $2,559,980.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 428,058 shares in the company, valued at $35,614,425.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.61, for a total value of $47,783.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,617,020.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.20, for a total value of $2,559,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 428,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,614,425.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 381,967 shares of company stock valued at $24,667,117 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.52% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter worth $157,768,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Block by 6,085.0% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,805,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $241,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775,915 shares during the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 16,450,950 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,011,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,222 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Block by 2,858.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,734 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of Block by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 7,221,371 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $443,826,000 after acquiring an additional 796,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.26% of the company’s stock.
Block Stock Performance
The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.05 and a beta of 2.37.
Block (NYSE:SQ – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. Block had a negative return on equity of 2.26% and a negative net margin of 2.97%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post -0.75 earnings per share for the current year.
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.