Block (NYSE:SQ) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $86.75, but opened at $90.65. Block shares last traded at $89.80, with a volume of 1,152,017 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.94.

Block Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a PE ratio of 51.78, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $162,836.83. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 86,010 shares in the company, valued at $7,863,894.30. This represents a 2.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $272,175.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,599 shares of company stock worth $2,120,494 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 64.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 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.