Block (NYSE:SQ) Given “In-Line” Rating at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI reiterated their in-line rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $75.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SQ. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Block from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an outperform rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $93.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $83.69.

Block Price Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $84.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.08 billion, a PE ratio of 492.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 2.55. Block has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $72.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.70.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Block will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 5,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $384,336.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 280,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,054,144. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 3,097 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total transaction of $228,465.69. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,432,684. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 5,652 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $384,336.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 280,208 shares in the company, valued at $19,054,144. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 258,056 shares of company stock worth $18,407,064. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Decatur Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Block by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,783 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC bought a new stake in Block during the 1st quarter valued at $387,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at $228,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Block by 31.3% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 25,320 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 6,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at $516,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.