Block (NYSE:SQ) Downgraded to Market Perform Rating by BMO Capital Markets

Block (NYSE:SQ) was downgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $100.00 target price on the technology company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $94.00. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 8.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SQ. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.46.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $92.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $57.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.07. Block has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $94.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $237,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,088,560. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,283 shares of company stock worth $862,773. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. SouthState Corp increased its stake in shares of Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.