Block (NYSE:SQ) Shares Down 1.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.9% during trading on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $92.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Block traded as low as $65.36 and last traded at $65.37. 713,159 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 8,613,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.64.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. William Blair upgraded Block to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $30,318.27. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 92,866 shares in the company, valued at $5,977,784.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $30,318.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 92,866 shares in the company, valued at $5,977,784.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roelof Botha acquired 434,405 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $57.55 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,007.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 434,405 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,007.75. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962. Insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Block during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Block by 843.2% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Block in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Block during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $64.13 and its 200 day moving average is $69.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.90 billion, a PE ratio of 83.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.52.

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

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.