Block (NYSE:SQ) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $90.00 to $120.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Block traded as high as $95.95 and last traded at $94.23, with a volume of 4962168 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $88.55.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SQ. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.45.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $609,015.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 246,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,580,192.81. This represents a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock worth $2,393,972 in the last three months. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Block during the first quarter worth approximately $2,842,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Block by 194.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,642 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,851,000 after acquiring an additional 69,146 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 100.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,778,000 after acquiring an additional 16,492 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Block by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 88,960 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,737,000 after purchasing an additional 5,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Block by 272.5% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,680 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Stock Up 5.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $76.03 and a 200 day moving average of $68.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The company has a market cap of $58.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.62, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.48.

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.