Block (NYSE:XYZ) Upgraded by Rothschild & Co Redburn to “Neutral” Rating

Block (NYSE:XYZ) was upgraded by research analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $55.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $45.00. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 8.02% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on XYZ. Truist Financial set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.00.

Block Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE XYZ opened at $59.80 on Wednesday. Block has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $82.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.63 and a 200-day moving average of $66.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The company has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.64.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.66%. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Block’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $517,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 503,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,189,200. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 3,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.41, for a total transaction of $225,422.55. Following the sale, the insider owned 231,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,664,323.42. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 20,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,165,720 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in Block in the second quarter worth $5,334,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Block in the second quarter valued at $542,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at $5,701,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at $1,146,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Company Profile

Block (NYSE:XYZ) is a financial technology company that builds products and services to facilitate electronic payments, commerce, and consumer finance. Its principal business lines include a seller-focused ecosystem that provides point-of-sale hardware and software, payment processing, invoicing, payroll and lending services, and a consumer-facing platform that offers peer-to-peer payments, banking-like features, and investing. Block’s portfolio also encompasses music streaming and buy-now-pay-later capabilities through businesses acquired to broaden its reach beyond core payments.

The company was founded as Square in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and later rebranded to Block to reflect a diversified set of businesses across payments, consumer finance, and emerging technologies.