Block (NYSE:XYZ) Sets New 12-Month High Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $87.44 and last traded at $85.9190, with a volume of 2,602,043 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.00.

The technology company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.45. Block had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Trending Headlines about Block

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Block reported third-quarter earnings of $1.13 per share, up from $0.54 a year earlier, and revenue of $6.72 billion, up 9.9%. The company also raised its full-year profit outlook, citing Cash App strength; Square’s U.S. payment-volume growth accelerated. Reuters: Block raises full-year profit outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised targets: Susquehanna to $110 and Bank of America to $117, with positive and buy ratings, respectively. Needham reaffirmed its buy rating and $100 target. These moves suggest analysts see further upside. Susquehanna recommendations Bank of America recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP reaffirmed its “market perform” rating, signaling a more cautious view than the recent target increases. Citizens JMP recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Block expects to pay about $764 million to settle a Justice Department money-laundering-controls probe. The company has reserved funds, but uncertainty about whether the reserve will cover the settlement—and scrutiny of compliance controls—could weigh on investor sentiment. Report on DOJ probe and expected settlement

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on XYZ. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Block from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Block from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Benchmark upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Block from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total value of $783,991.73. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 423,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,889,486.66. This trade represents a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Eisen sold 6,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.48, for a total transaction of $488,880.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,482,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,808,114.56. This represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 232,686 shares of company stock valued at $18,360,227. Corporate insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $621,703,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Block by 18.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,194,419 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $234,886,000 after purchasing an additional 494,083 shares during the period. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Block by 6.9% in the second quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,682,854 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $203,897,000 after buying an additional 172,848 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Block by 528.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,309,296 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $199,153,000 after buying an additional 2,782,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Block by 1.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,147,988 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $189,353,000 after buying an additional 39,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $52.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 156.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

About Block

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.