Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target Raised to $98.00 at Robert W. Baird

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price target upped by Robert W. Baird from $95.00 to $98.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Block from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an in-line rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Block currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $85.22.

Block Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE SQ opened at $70.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 423.88, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 2.55. Block has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $87.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.75 and its 200-day moving average is $66.04.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Block had a return on equity of 0.63% and a net margin of 0.04%. Equities research analysts predict that Block will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the firm’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 $165,958.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,754 shares in the company, valued at $12,972,782.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Block in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Block by 843.2% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Block in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Vima LLC bought a new stake in Block in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Block in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.