Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Keeps “Market Perform” Rating at Citizens Jmp

Block (NYSE:XYZ)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating restated by stock analysts at Citizens Jmp in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on XYZ. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Block from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Benchmark upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Block from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.13.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of XYZ stock opened at $75.77 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.18. Block has a one year low of $48.21 and a one year high of $86.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.52 billion, a PE ratio of 135.30, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.45. Block had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Block will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.44, for a total transaction of $446,640.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,212,672 shares in the company, valued at $90,271,303.68. The trade was a 0.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 232,686 shares of company stock valued at $18,360,227. Insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Block by 301.0% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 389 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

More Block News

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Block beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.13 per share. Revenue was $6.72 billion, up 9.9% year over year, and net income rose to $565.6 million from $461.5 million. Block Q3 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year profit outlook after gross profit growth exceeded its guidance. Cash App drove quarterly growth, while Square’s U.S. payment volume growth accelerated, suggesting its sales efforts are gaining traction. Block raises full-year profit outlook as Cash App drives Q3 growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Block reached a preliminary settlement with the Department of Justice. A resolution could reduce regulatory uncertainty, but the available report does not specify the settlement’s terms or financial impact. Block lifts profit outlook on Cash App strength, reaches preliminary DOJ settlement
• Negative Sentiment: A post-earnings analysis noted that losses climbed even as adjusted profit increased, highlighting potential cost pressures that could temper optimism about the outlook. Block’s Adjusted Profit Jumps as Losses Climb

Block Company Profile

Block, Inc is a financial technology company that provides payments, commerce, and financial services through an ecosystem of business and consumer products. Formerly known as Square, the company was co-founded by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and changed its corporate name to Block in 2021.

Its Square ecosystem serves businesses with point-of-sale hardware, payment processing, invoicing, payroll, inventory management, customer engagement, online commerce, and other software tools. Block also offers lending and other financial services to eligible business customers through Square-related products.

For consumers, Block operates Cash App, a mobile financial services platform that supports services such as peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, a Cash App Card, direct deposit, investing, and bitcoin transactions, subject to product and geographic availability.