Block (NYSE:SQ) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $90.00 to $92.00. The stock had previously closed at $70.30, but opened at $76.49. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Block shares last traded at $72.10, with a volume of 8,631,000 shares changing hands.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $165,958.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,972,782.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585. 10.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Block by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,192,701 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,799,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277,043 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Block by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,513,788 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $967,942,000 after buying an additional 212,218 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Block by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 11,887,628 shares of the technology company's stock worth $919,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,514 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Block by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 10,377,973 shares of the technology company's stock worth $802,736,000 after acquiring an additional 75,161 shares during the period. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its stake in shares of Block by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 8,982,862 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $694,735,000 after acquiring an additional 71,735 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $42.76 billion, a PE ratio of 393.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 2.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.82 and a 200-day moving average of $67.83. 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 (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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.