Robert W. Baird Increases Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target to $98.00

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its target price boosted by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $95.00 to $98.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 36.02% from the stock’s previous close.

SQ has been the subject of several other research reports. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.22.

Block Stock Performance

Block stock opened at $72.05 on Friday. Block has a 12-month low of $38.85 and a 12-month high of $87.52. The company has a market capitalization of $44.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 432.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $76.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.85.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. On average, research analysts forecast that Block will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $165,958.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 201,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,972,782.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175 over the last 90 days. 10.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 843.2% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Block in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.