Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.73% from the company’s current price.

SQ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.33.

Block Trading Down 3.2 %

Block stock opened at $75.17 on Friday. Block has a one year low of $50.63 and a one year high of $87.52. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $68.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.73, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 2.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total value of $30,940.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,715,608.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total transaction of $30,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 92,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,715,608.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,214 shares of company stock worth $1,637,932. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Block by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,688 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in Block by 1.9% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,744 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 2.5% during the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 6.3% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Block by 13.8% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 1,351 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 164 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.