Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its target price increased by analysts at Barclays from $100.00 to $112.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 28.29% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.69.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $87.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. Block has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month 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 Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total transaction of $759,347.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 563,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,415,854.92. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,918 shares of company stock worth $2,666,147 in the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Block by 36.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,468 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Block by 2,230.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,167 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 2,074 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Block by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 21,779 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 5,536 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in Block by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 3,391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.