Block (NYSE:SQ) Shares Gap Down to $51.25

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $51.25, but opened at $49.94. Block shares last traded at $49.90, with a volume of 3,115,465 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SQ shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Block from $75.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on Block from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Block from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Block from $70.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Block Stock Down 2.7 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $64.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $30.42 billion, a PE ratio of -116.47 and a beta of 2.34.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Block had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.61%. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post -0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 2,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.49, for a total transaction of $133,146.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 479,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,098,704.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Block news, Director Lawrence Henry Summers sold 3,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.09, for a total transaction of $242,418.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,472,485.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alyssa Henry sold 2,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.49, for a total value of $133,146.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 479,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,098,704.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,200 shares of company stock valued at $2,310,864 over the last quarter. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 4.4% during the second quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,058 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Capital Impact Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Impact Advisors LLC now owns 5,401 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Block by 1.9% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 9,447 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Block by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,872 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 61.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Company Profile

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.