Block (NYSE:SQ) Shares Gap Down to $73.00

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $73.00, but opened at $67.91. Block shares last traded at $67.19, with a volume of 3,148,885 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SQ. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $88.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.67.

Block Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.83. The stock has a market cap of $43.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 393.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. On average, analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,318.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175 over the last quarter. Insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in Block by 1.3% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its position in Block by 7.2% during the first quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Block by 25.4% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Block by 3.4% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, CAP Partners LLC boosted its position in Block by 3.5% during the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.