Block (NYSE:SQ) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Raymond James

Block (NYSE:SQ) was upgraded by analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $115.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. Raymond James’ price target indicates a potential upside of 32.56% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.94.

Block Price Performance

SQ stock opened at $86.75 on Friday. Block has a 52 week low of $55.00 and a 52 week high of $99.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total transaction of $759,347.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 563,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,415,854.92. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at $8,097,325. The trade was a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,120,494. 10.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Block by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 18,855 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 65.8% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 190.2% in the 2nd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,375 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 8,111 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Block by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 139,574 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Block by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 37,395 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 9,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.