StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Block (NYSE:SQ)

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on SQ. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Block from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.68.

Block Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $53.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.51. Block has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $89.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 86,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,863,894.30. The trade was a 2.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,325. This trade represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,981 shares of company stock valued at $2,681,185 in the last quarter. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in Block by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $686,948,000 after purchasing an additional 147,873 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Block by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,690,075 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $581,923,000 after acquiring an additional 133,002 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Block by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,202,388 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $147,846,000 after purchasing an additional 45,472 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Block by 770.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in Block in the third quarter worth approximately $114,121,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.