Block (NYSE:SQ) Given "Buy" Rating at Canaccord Genuity Group

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $95.00 price target on the technology company's stock. Canaccord Genuity Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 36.79% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Block in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.42.

Block Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded down $0.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.45. 28,911,495 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,185,580. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 393.18, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 2.57. 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 12-month low of $38.85 and a 12-month high of $87.52. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $77.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.83.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. On average, research analysts predict that Block will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $7,679,410.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in Block by 55.9% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 16,124 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 5,783 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Block by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 19,453 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Block by 240.9% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 127,001 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,741,000 after purchasing an additional 89,744 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Block by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 38,862 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in Block by 9.7% in the first quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 10,494 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.