Block (NYSE:SQ) Shares Up 8.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) shares shot up 8.4% during trading on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $80.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Block traded as high as $80.90 and last traded at $80.86. 4,596,769 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 8,016,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.56.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on SQ. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. New Street Research began coverage on Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Block in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total value of $388,920.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 255,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,742,652.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,214 shares of company stock worth $1,637,932. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Block by 45.7% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company's stock worth $650,396,000 after acquiring an additional 3,163,975 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in Block by 13.9% in the 2nd 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. lifted its position in Block by 76.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 795,000 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position 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 valued at $42,413,000 after acquiring an additional 601,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Block by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,096,614 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,107,712,000 after buying an additional 582,826 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Stock Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $68.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $51.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.10, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.48.

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.