Block (NYSE:SQ) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $87.00 to $102.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Block traded as high as $95.95 and last traded at $94.23, with a volume of 4962168 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $88.55.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on SQ. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $609,015.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 246,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,580,192.81. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,781 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $162,836.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 86,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,863,894.30. This trade represents a 2.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 64.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Block during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Block in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $57.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $77.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.00.

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.