Block (NYSE:SQ) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Block (NYSE:SQ) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.81%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Block Price Performance

NYSE:SQ traded up $0.48 on Friday, reaching $60.38. The stock had a trading volume of 17,898,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,386,237. The company has a market capitalization of $37.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 2.52. Block has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $91,070.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 93,337 shares in the company, valued at $6,651,194.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at $6,443,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,505 shares of company stock worth $1,683,811 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% 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.