Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Wedbush

Wedbush reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $90.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

SQ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Block in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho upped their price target on Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $87.55.

Block Stock Up 5.8 %

SQ stock traded up $4.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,538,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,201,752. The company has a market capitalization of $45.27 billion, a PE ratio of 94.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.57. Block has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $77.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Block had a return on equity of 2.07% and a net margin of 2.18%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Block will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $42,180.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $165,958.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 201,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,972,782.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Block during the 4th quarter worth about $528,996,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Block by 3,525.7% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,935,002 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $459,072,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771,310 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $172,001,000. Trivest Advisors Ltd bought a new position in Block during the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,021,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,277,043 shares during the period. 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.