Brokerages Set Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Target Price at $83.69

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirty-two research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.69.

SQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Block from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of SQ traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.58. 5,816,809 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,737,743. The business's 50-day moving average price is $73.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Block has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The company has a market capitalization of $52.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 489.29, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 2.55.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.69 billion. Block had a return on equity of 0.63% and a net margin of 0.04%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Block will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $165,958.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,972,782.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,056 shares of company stock worth $18,407,064 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Decatur Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Block by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,783 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC purchased a new position in Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $387,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $228,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Block by 31.3% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 25,320 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 6,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Block in the second quarter worth about $516,000. 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.