Block (NYSE:SQ) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Block (NYSE:SQ – Get Rating) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Block had a negative net margin of 0.46% and a positive return on equity of 0.74%. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Block Stock Performance

SQ stock traded down $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.73. 30,820,551 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,263,869. The firm has a market cap of $50.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -584.83 and a beta of 2.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.86. Block has a 1-year low of $56.01 and a 1-year high of $286.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on SQ shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Block from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 20th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $140.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $173.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Block from $230.00 to $175.00 in a report on Friday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.93.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,029 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $252,336.27. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 155,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,748,296.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,029 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $252,336.27. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 155,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,748,296.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $1,850,507.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 433,543 shares in the company, valued at $26,073,276.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 352,686 shares of company stock worth $25,461,055. 11.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Block stock. Decatur Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ – Get Rating) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,783 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 54.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Company Profile

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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.