Piper Sandler Reiterates Overweight Rating for Block (NYSE:SQ)

Piper Sandler restated their overweight rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $83.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

SQ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.30.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $83.42 on Monday. Block has a 52 week low of $55.00 and a 52 week high of $90.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.22. The company has a market cap of $51.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.87, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $90,968.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,885,112. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,678 shares of company stock worth $1,924,112. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 64.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.