Block (NYSE:SQ) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $86.75, but opened at $90.65. Block shares last traded at $89.80, with a volume of 1,152,017 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.94.

Block Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $87.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.11. The stock has a market cap of $57.12 billion, a PE ratio of 51.78, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $272,175.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders have sold 23,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,120,494. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQ. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Block by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 18,855 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Block by 65.8% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Block by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 139,574 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Block by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 37,395 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 9,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Block by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 160,950 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,380,000 after acquiring an additional 2,094 shares in the last quarter. 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.