Block (NYSE:SQ) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by BNP Paribas

Block (NYSE:SQ) was downgraded by BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $88.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 4.79% from the stock’s previous close.

SQ has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.18.

Block Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE SQ opened at $92.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.29 billion, a PE ratio of 51.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $72.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.66. Block has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $93.00. 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 Activity at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $37,605,124.74. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,283 shares of company stock worth $862,773 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SQ. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Block by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,891,000 after buying an additional 8,200 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $686,948,000 after acquiring an additional 147,873 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Block by 2.7% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 541,204 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,969,000 after acquiring an additional 14,163 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.