The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Price

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its target price increased by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $87.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.54% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on SQ. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.21.

Block Price Performance

Shares of Block stock traded up $4.57 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $93.12. The company had a trading volume of 9,328,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,225,709. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $95.95. The company has a market capitalization of $57.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.48.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $123,232.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 574,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,605,124.74. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock worth $2,393,972 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in Block by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Block by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,893 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 52,412 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,639 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,833 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. 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.