Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $90.00 to $108.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 29.75% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on SQ. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.35.

Block Trading Up 1.5 %

Block stock traded up $1.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $83.24. 830,589 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,395,869. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.59 billion, a PE ratio of 46.76, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.23. Block has a twelve month low of $55.00 and a twelve month high of $99.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $129,953.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,955,057.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,044 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.72, for a total value of $177,255.68. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 83,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,281,531.52. This trade represents a 2.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SouthState Corp lifted its position in shares of Block by 85.3% in 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 position in Block by 64.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Block by 67.7% in the 4th 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 during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.