Block (NYSE:SQ) Downgraded to "Underperform" at CLSA

Jun 13, 2023

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Rating) was downgraded by analysts at CLSA from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $63.00 price target on the technology company's stock, down from their previous price target of $93.00. CLSA's price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.51% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Block from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Wedbush raised shares of Block from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $114.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Block from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.71.

Shares of SQ stock opened at $57.53 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The company has a market cap of $34.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.88 and a beta of 2.34. Block has a 1 year low of $51.34 and a 1 year high of $93.19.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The technology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $4.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. Block had a negative net margin of 1.92% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,769 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.30, for a total transaction of $2,378,443.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 418,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,362,959.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,046 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $271,082.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 241,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,177,820. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,769 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.30, for a total transaction of $2,378,443.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 418,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,362,959.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 318,130 shares of company stock valued at $21,650,400 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.52% of the company's stock.

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. Decatur Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Block by 11.1% in the first quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the first quarter valued at about $387,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at about $228,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Block by 31.3% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 25,320 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 6,038 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $516,000. 59.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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