Block (NYSE:SQ) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $86.75, but opened at $90.65. Block shares last traded at $89.80, with a volume of 1,152,017 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Macquarie raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Block from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target 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 restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.94.

Block Stock Up 6.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.78, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.20 and a 200-day moving average of $73.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,103,280. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the business'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 $237,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,088,560. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,120,494. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Block by 770.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company's stock worth $116,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538,849 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Block by 13.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 934,588 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. increased its position in Block by 76.7% during the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $118,103,000 after purchasing an additional 795,000 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Block by 1,061.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,413,000 after purchasing an additional 601,020 shares in the last quarter. 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.