Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target Raised to $95.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on SQ. Macquarie raised their price target on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BNP Paribas lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.68.

Block Price Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $86.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.53, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.43. Block has a 1 year low of $55.00 and a 1 year high of $99.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total transaction of $253,481.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 195,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,469,231.62. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,088,560. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,981 shares of company stock valued at $2,681,185. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Block by 1.5% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $686,948,000 after acquiring an additional 147,873 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Block by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,690,075 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $581,923,000 after purchasing an additional 133,002 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 13.9% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Block by 2.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,202,388 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $147,846,000 after buying an additional 45,472 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Block by 17.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,143,000 after buying an additional 326,444 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.