Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Price

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 31.28% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.69.

Block Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $94.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.13, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. Block has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $99.26.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,605,124.74. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,918 shares of company stock worth $2,666,147 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SouthState Corp raised its position in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Block by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Block in the third quarter worth $46,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Block by 85.3% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 741 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.