Block (NYSE:SQ) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

Block (NYSE:SQ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on SQ. Credit Suisse Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 4th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Block from $90.00 to $85.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Block from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 4th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Block in a report on Monday, September 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Block from $92.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Block Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of Block stock traded down $1.58 during trading on Monday, reaching $51.25. The stock had a trading volume of 10,431,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,224,888. The company has a market capitalization of $31.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -116.48 and a beta of 2.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.72. Block has a 52 week low of $51.24 and a 52 week high of $89.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. Block had a negative return on equity of 0.61% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Block will post -0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.82, for a total value of $56,663.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 73,610 shares in the company, valued at $4,918,620.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Block news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 2,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.49, for a total transaction of $133,146.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 479,708 shares in the company, valued at $27,098,704.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.82, for a total value of $56,663.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 73,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,918,620.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,200 shares of company stock worth $2,310,864. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Tobam lifted its stake in shares of Block by 885.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 483 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Block by 1,571.4% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 585 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. 61.17% 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.