Analysts Set Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) PT at $97.68

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.68.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SQ shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Block Price Performance

Block has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $99.26. 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 $53.90 billion, a PE ratio of 48.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.68 and a 200-day moving average of $75.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 88,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,103,280. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total transaction of $129,953.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,955,057.48. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,981 shares of company stock valued at $2,681,185 in the last quarter. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in Block during the third quarter valued at $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Block by 770.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in Block by 13.9% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP bought a new position in Block during the third quarter valued at $27,255,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP lifted its position in Block by 358.4% during the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 503,402 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,793,000 after purchasing an additional 393,593 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.