The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $87.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on SQ. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.21.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of SQ opened at $92.77 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $95.95. The firm has a market cap of $57.50 billion, a PE ratio of 52.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.48.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $162,836.83. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 86,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,863,894.30. This trade represents a 2.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $609,015.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 246,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,580,192.81. This trade represents a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,053 shares of company stock worth $2,393,972. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in Block by 45.7% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $650,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163,975 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Block by 770.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538,849 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its stake in Block by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Block by 76.7% during the second quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,103,000 after buying an additional 795,000 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is 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.