Block (NYSE:SQ) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a research note released on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on SQ. Oppenheimer raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James raised shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.10.

Block Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $89.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.51. Block has a 1 year low of $55.00 and a 1 year high of $99.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $272,175.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total value of $253,481.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 195,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,469,231.62. The trade was a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQ. SouthState Corp grew its holdings 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 raised its holdings in shares of Block by 64.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Block by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Block by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter worth about $46,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by 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.