Block (NYSE:SQ) Upgraded at Raymond James

Block (NYSE:SQ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $115.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. Raymond James’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 32.56% from the company’s previous close.

SQ has been the topic of several other reports. New Street Research began coverage on Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.94.

Block Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE SQ opened at $86.75 on Friday. Block has a one year low of $55.00 and a one year high of $99.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.91. The firm has a market cap of $53.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.74, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $7,088,560. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,103,280. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,120,494. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. SouthState Corp grew its stake in shares of Block by 85.3% during the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Block by 64.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Block by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Block in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 392.7% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 877 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 699 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.