Block, Inc. (XYZ) – What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, thirty-three have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $99.80.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XYZ. Citigroup upgraded Block from a “buy” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Block from $96.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Block from $107.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th.

Block Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE:XYZ opened at $85.51 on Wednesday. Block has a fifty-two week low of $48.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.58. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.73.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.45. Block had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Block will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 35,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.50, for a total transaction of $3,062,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,177,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,046,300. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 249,686 shares of company stock valued at $19,981,767 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XYZ. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 24,379 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 4,913 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 50.1% in the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 23,339 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,716,000 after buying an additional 7,790 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Block by 26.1% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 124,588 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,565,000 after buying an additional 25,783 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 52.5% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 20,149 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 6,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 18.5% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Company Profile

Block, Inc. is a financial technology company that provides payment and commerce tools to businesses and financial services for consumers. Its products include Square, a platform offering payment processing, point-of-sale software and related business services, and Cash App, which provides person-to-person payments and other financial features. The company also owns Afterpay, a buy-now, pay-later service, and TIDAL, a music and entertainment platform. Block serves businesses and consumers in the United States and other markets, with product availability varying by country.