Block (NYSE:SQ) Given “Outperform” Rating at Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their outperform rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $90.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SQ. Citigroup increased their price target on Block from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $88.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Block from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $87.42.

Block Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SQ stock traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.47. 28,948,341 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,617,495. The company has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 2.57. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Block has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.07%. Research analysts predict that Block will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total value of $42,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 201,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,972,782.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 477,469 shares of company stock valued at $34,963,585 in the last 90 days. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,222,600 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,112,000 after buying an additional 115,132 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its position in shares of Block by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 261,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Block by 16.1% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,373,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,807,000 after purchasing an additional 190,400 shares during the period. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter worth about $359,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.