Block (NYSE:SQ) Receives Outperform Rating from Macquarie

Macquarie restated their outperform rating on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $100.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

SQ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an underweight rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Block from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $87.64.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $60.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $37.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 2.52. Block has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. Block had a return on equity of 2.04% and a net margin of 2.18%. Analysts forecast that Block will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 5,155 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $367,345.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 599,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,695,429. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 138,173 shares of company stock worth $9,363,222 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Block by 843.2% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Block during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 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.