Block (NYSE:SQ) Receives “Buy” Rating from Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated their buy rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $95.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an in-line rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Block from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $87.42.

Block Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SQ stock traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $69.47. 28,948,341 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,617,495. The stock has a market cap of $42.77 billion, a PE ratio of 90.20, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $77.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.83. Block has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 year high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.07%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Research analysts predict that Block will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 201,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,972,782.20. 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 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 directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 477,469 shares of company stock valued at $34,963,585 in the last 90 days. 10.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Block by 843.2% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Block by 67,500.0% during the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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.