Block (NYSE:SQ) Trading 3.4% Higher - Here's What Happened

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) shares traded up 3.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $70.84 and last traded at $70.58. 3,315,689 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 8,148,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SQ. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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, 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, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.31.

Block Stock Performance

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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $64.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.73. The firm has a market cap of $43.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.53, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 2.49.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Block's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $388,920.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares in the company, valued at $16,742,652.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Roelof Botha bought 434,405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $57.55 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,007.75. Following the purchase, the director now owns 434,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,000,007.75. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total value of $388,920.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,742,652.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,714 shares of company stock valued at $1,812,932 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Block during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 70.44% of the stock is 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.