Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Receives $93.21 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-one brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $92.96.

A number of analysts have commented on SQ shares. 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 raised their target price on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $98.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $60.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.50. Block has a twelve month low of $55.00 and a twelve month high of $99.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.93 and its 200 day moving average is $69.56. 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 Transactions at Block

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 have sold 31,918 shares of company stock valued at $2,666,147 in the last quarter. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Block by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,891,000 after acquiring an additional 8,200 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Block by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,709,000 after purchasing an additional 128,832 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in Block by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $686,948,000 after purchasing an additional 147,873 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Block by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Block by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 541,204 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,969,000 after buying an additional 14,163 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.