Square stock slips after Craig Hallum downgrades to sell
Square Inc. shares are down 5.7% in Friday's session after Craig Hallum Capital group analyst Brad Berning downgraded the stock to sell. "Competition is tired of Square winning and they are bringing scale, lower pricing, and functionality," Berning wrote, singling out First Data Corp. and its Clover product. "Any transactions over $10 or $15 will mostly likely be cheaper to use First Data's Clover over Square." VeriFone Systems Inc. is also working on a similar payment-processing product. Berning joins analysts from Morningstar and BTIG as the lone Square bears. Of the 34 analysts who cover the stock, according to FactSet, 17 rate it a buy, 14 rate it a hold, and 3 call it a sell. Earlier, analysts from Mizuho raised their price target on shares and cited the company's coffee-discount program for Square Cash users. Square shares are up 211% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 is up 12%.
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