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, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $100.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on Block from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Block from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 30th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $85.67.

Block Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of SQ opened at $74.02 on Monday. Block has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52. The company has a market capitalization of $45.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 414.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.86.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Block will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the business’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 $165,958.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,972,782.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the 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 $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Block by 843.2% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 89.6% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Block in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its position in Block by 67,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Block by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during 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.