Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ – Get Rating)’s share price fell 4.3% on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $104.00 to $100.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Block traded as low as $67.91 and last traded at $68.16. 74,726 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 100% from the average session volume of 17,088,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.25.
SQ has been the topic of several other research reports. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Block from $175.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, November 4th. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price objective on shares of Block to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 13th. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group downgraded Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 21st. Macquarie raised Block from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Block from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.98.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.82, for a total value of $1,871,370.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 428,058 shares in the company, valued at $26,034,487.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.82, for a total value of $1,871,370.58. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 428,058 shares in the company, valued at $26,034,487.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.61, for a total value of $47,783.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,617,020.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 382,073 shares of company stock worth $22,925,340. Company insiders own 11.52% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Block by 4.4% in the first quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 19,176 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Hartline Investment Corp increased its position in Block by 92.2% during the 1st quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 52,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,757,000 after buying an additional 25,102 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 20.8% during the first quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 28,800 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,905,000 after buying an additional 4,950 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Block by 14.5% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,995 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Block by 267.4% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,381 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 6,100 shares during the period. 62.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Block Price Performance
The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.84 and its 200 day moving average is $67.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -72.61 and a beta of 2.37.
Financial services firm Block stock has fallen (-59%) in 2022
Block (NYSE:SQ – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.16. Block had a negative net margin of 2.97% and a negative return on equity of 2.10%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
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.