Block’s (SQ) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Monness Crespi & Hardt

Monness Crespi & Hardt restated their neutral rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Block from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Benchmark raised their target price on Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Block from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $87.42.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of SQ stock opened at $69.47 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.63 and a 200 day moving average of $68.16. Block has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 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 firm has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 2.57.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.07%. As a group, research analysts expect that Block will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of Block stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 477,469 shares of company stock valued at $34,963,585 in the last three months. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Block by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 276,975 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,259,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Block by 9.8% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 83,911 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,714,000 after buying an additional 7,507 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Block by 3.8% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 42,171 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Block by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 154,987 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,860,000 after buying an additional 7,412 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Block during the 3rd quarter worth about $434,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.