Block (NYSE:SQ) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $95.00 to $120.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Block traded as high as $89.96 and last traded at $89.35, with a volume of 2729597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.25.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. William Blair upgraded shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Block currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.30.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,088,560. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $90,968.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,885,112. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,678 shares of company stock worth $1,924,112 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Block by 53.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,947 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,432 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Block by 6.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,928 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Block by 19.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 301,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,531,000 after purchasing an additional 48,646 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Block by 44.8% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,482 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,552 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Cayman LP grew its position in shares of Block by 99.1% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 91,340 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,394,000 after buying an additional 45,475 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Down 2.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.22. The firm has a market cap of $51.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.48.

About Block

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.