Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target to $100.00

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $105.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price indicates a potential upside of 14.08% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SQ. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, New Street Research began coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.77.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $87.66 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a twelve month low of $55.00 and a twelve month high of $99.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.84 and a 200-day moving average of $73.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,103,280. The trade was a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter valued at $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in 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 period. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake in Block by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Block by 76.7% during the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,103,000 after buying an additional 795,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Block by 1,061.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,413,000 after buying an additional 601,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.