Block Defended at CLSA, Analyst ‘Unfazed by the Noise’
2022.05.23 17:31
Block (SQ) Defended at CLSA, Analyst ‘Unfazed by the Noise’
By Senad Karaahmetovic
CLSA analyst John Marrin reiterated a Buy rating on Block (NYSE:SQ) but lowered the price target to $122.00 per share from $180.00 to reflect falling multiple across the industry.
The analyst is ‘unfazed by the noise’ created by the market volatility. The macro data is “indeed destabilizing the near-term outlook,” says Marrin, as Block stock price trades at 2-year lows.
Still, the analyst reminds investors that the fintech company has managed to make “a lot of progress” in this timeframe.
“The recent investor day provided a lot of information that reinforced confidence in our long-term assumptions. Block is uniquely positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities and remains one of the best large-cap growth stories in tech,” Marrin told clients in a note.
Marrin reiterated his view that block is a company that should be seen as “an operating system for both businesses and consumers and we are starting to see how its strategic plan extends beyond payments and deep into the engine rooms of consumers and SMBs.”
The key pillar of his bullish thesis is that Square owns a roughly 2% market share of a $200 billion total market opportunity.
“We continue to believe it can move this market share figure up to 4% in three years,” the analyst concluded.
Block stock price is down almost 3% today.
