Wedbush Reiterates Neutral Rating for Block (NYSE:SQ)

Block (NYSE:SQ)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $70.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 36.59% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Block from $92.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 11th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Block from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Block from $75.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.32.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $51.25 on Tuesday. Block has a twelve month low of $51.24 and a twelve month high of $89.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -116.47 and a beta of 2.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $64.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.72.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Block had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.61%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block will post -0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lawrence Henry Summers sold 3,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.46, for a total value of $295,207.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,497,441.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Lawrence Henry Summers sold 3,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.46, for a total transaction of $295,207.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,497,441.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 5,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.84, for a total value of $363,008.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 310,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,758,498.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,200 shares of company stock worth $2,310,864. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Block by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new stake in Block during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Tobam lifted its holdings in Block by 885.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 483 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Block by 1,571.4% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 585 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. 61.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.