Block (NYSE:SQ) Receives "Outperform" Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $88.00 price target on the technology company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.74% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on SQ. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.79.

Block Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:SQ traded down $0.55 on Monday, reaching $74.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,548,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,067,422. The firm's fifty day moving average is $66.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The company has a market cap of $45.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.49. Block has a 12-month low of $38.85 and a 12-month high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Block will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total transaction of $30,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,715,608.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total transaction of $30,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,366 shares in the company, valued at $5,715,608.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Roelof Botha acquired 434,405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.55 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,007.75. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 434,405 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,007.75. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,214 shares of company stock valued at $1,637,932. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Block during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.