Barclays Increases Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target to $112.00

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Barclays from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 28.29% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Block in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.69.

Block Trading Down 7.7 %

Shares of SQ opened at $87.30 on Tuesday. Block has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $99.26. The company has a market capitalization of $54.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $609,015.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,605,124.74. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,918 shares of company stock valued at $2,666,147. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Block by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $110,891,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Block by 13.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,709,000 after purchasing an additional 128,832 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in Block by 1.5% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $686,948,000 after buying an additional 147,873 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Block by 6.2% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 253,787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,037,000 after buying an additional 14,822 shares during the period. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 13.9% during 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 buying an additional 934,588 shares in the last quarter. 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.