Oppenheimer Upgrades Block (NYSE:SQ) to “Outperform”

Block (NYSE:SQ) was upgraded by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $115.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 28.28% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on SQ. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.33.

Block Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:SQ opened at $89.65 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.01 and a 200 day moving average of $71.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a 52 week low of $55.00 and a 52 week high of $99.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.37, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $37,605,124.74. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,918 shares of company stock valued at $2,666,147. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. SouthState Corp lifted its position in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in Block by 85.3% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 741 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.