Block (NYSE:SQ) Receives "Positive" Rating from Susquehanna

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "positive" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Susquehanna in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $100.00 price objective on the technology company's stock. Susquehanna's price target would indicate a potential upside of 58.03% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SQ. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.13.

Block Trading Down 1.2 %

Block stock traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,641,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,302,110. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.23 and a 200-day moving average of $71.69. Block has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $87.52. The stock has a market cap of $39.05 billion, a PE ratio of 82.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 2.54.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.32. Block had a return on equity of 2.04% and a net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Block will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,788 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $483,712.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,158,456.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.73, for a total transaction of $9,238,128.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 485,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,177,410.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,788 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $483,712.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,886 shares in the company, valued at $20,158,456.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 247,739 shares of company stock worth $18,584,747 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQ. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Block by 843.2% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 67,500.0% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Block during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.