Block (NYSE:SQ) Trading 4.4% Higher

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 4.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $68.03 and last traded at $67.52. 1,924,679 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 8,600,060 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SQ. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.52.

Block Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.83. The company has a market capitalization of $40.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. Block had a return on equity of 3.77% and a net margin of 3.47%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $430,966.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 264,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,125,895.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $90,968.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,885,112. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $430,966.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 264,697 shares in the company, valued at $17,125,895.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Block by 1.3% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company's stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Block by 25.4% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its stake in shares of Block by 7.2% in the first quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Block by 3.4% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the technology company's stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CAP Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Block by 3.5% during the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in 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.