Block (NYSE:SQ) Rating Lowered to Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets

Block (NYSE:SQ) was downgraded by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $100.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $94.00. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.31% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.46.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $89.04 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.32. Block has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $94.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total value of $759,347.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 563,894 shares in the company, valued at $51,415,854.92. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,053 shares of company stock worth $2,393,972 over the last 90 days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SQ. SouthState Corp increased its position in Block by 85.3% during the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Block by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Company Profile

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.