Block’s (SQ) Positive Rating Reiterated at Susquehanna

Susquehanna reaffirmed their positive rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $100.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on SQ. Wells Fargo & Company raised Block from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Block from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. BTIG Research upgraded Block from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $85.67.

Block Price Performance

Shares of SQ stock opened at $74.02 on Monday. Block has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $87.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.57 billion, a PE ratio of 414.23, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.14 and its 200-day moving average is $66.86.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Block will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. 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. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its position in Block by 843.2% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 89.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Front Row Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings 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. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.