Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Price

Block (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the technology company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Block from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Block in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.34.

Block Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE SQ traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $94.58. 5,991,402 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,256,686. The company has a market cap of $58.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. Block has a one year low of $55.00 and a one year 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $82.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $237,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,088,560. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total value of $759,347.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 563,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,415,854.92. This represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,918 shares of company stock valued at $2,666,147. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. 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.