Block (NYSE:SQ) Rating Lowered to “Neutral” at BNP Paribas

Block (NYSE:SQ) was downgraded by stock analysts at BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $88.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price target points to a potential downside of 5.20% from the stock’s previous close.

SQ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Block in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.18.

Block Stock Up 3.5 %

NYSE:SQ opened at $92.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.48. Block has a twelve month low of $55.00 and a twelve month high of $93.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.99.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,103,280. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,605,124.74. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,283 shares of company stock valued at $862,773 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the first quarter worth $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Block during the third quarter valued at $46,000. 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.