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Block (SQ) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

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Block closed the most recent trading day at $82.01, moving -0.64% from the previous trading session. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.86%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.38%.

Shares of the mobile payments services provider have depreciated by 10.26% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Business Services sector's loss of 5.61% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.2%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Block in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.82, indicating an 82.22% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $6.14 billion, indicating a 6.32% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Block. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.13% lower. Block presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, Block is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.88. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 23.65 for its industry.

Also, we should mention that SQ has a PEG ratio of 0.44. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Technology Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.45 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Technology Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, finds itself in the top 30% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow SQ in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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