Block’s (SQ) “Positive” Rating Reiterated at Susquehanna

Susquehanna reiterated their positive rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a $100.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI restated an in-line rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a buy rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Monday, June 24th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Benchmark restated a buy rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $87.13.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $64.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.55. Block has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The company has a market capitalization of $39.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 2.54.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.04%. As a group, research analysts expect that Block will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.73, for a total value of $9,238,128.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 485,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,177,410.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares in the company, valued at $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.73, for a total transaction of $9,238,128.18. Following the sale, the insider now owns 485,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,177,410.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 247,739 shares of company stock valued at $18,584,747 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Block during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its position in Block by 843.2% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Block in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 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.