Block (NYSE:XYZ) Price Target Raised to $105.00

Key Points

• Barclays raised Block’s price target from $100 to $105 and maintained an Overweight rating, implying 24.5% upside from the then-current price.
• Block reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating the $0.68 consensus, on $6.72 billion in revenue, up 9.9% year over year. The company also raised its full-year profit outlook.
• Analyst views remain mixed, though the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $98.41 target. Block also set aside about $764 million for a preliminary Justice Department settlement related to money-laundering controls, creating potential cash-flow and compliance costs.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Barclays from $100.00 to $105.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the technology company's stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 24.50% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $97.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research cut shares of Block from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Block from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.41.

Block Price Performance

Shares of XYZ traded down $3.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.33. 5,204,675 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,189,935. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.30. Block has a 52-week low of $48.21 and a 52-week high of $88.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. The company has a market cap of $50.67 billion, a PE ratio of 114.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.58.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 1.80%. The company's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Block will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 6,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.48, for a total value of $488,880.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,482,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at $120,808,114.56. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,511 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total value of $783,991.73. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 423,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,889,486.66. The trade was a 2.20% 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. Insiders sold 226,686 shares of company stock valued at $17,861,807 over the last quarter. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth about $366,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Block by 35.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,637 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,191,000 after acquiring an additional 18,326 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 295.4% during the second quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 25,999 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,976,000 after buying an additional 19,423 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $13,291,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Block by 6.7% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,607,286 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $96,726,000 after buying an additional 101,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Block

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Block’s third-quarter results beat expectations: adjusted EPS was $1.13, revenue reached $6.72 billion, and gross profit rose 22% to $3.24 billion. Growth in Cash App and Square helped drive the results, and Block raised its full-year profit outlook. Reuters earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms lifted their price targets after the results. Argus raised its target to $105 and assigned a Buy rating; other increases included targets of $109 from TD Cowen and $117 from Bank of America, signaling confidence in further upside. Argus rating information
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinions are not unanimous: Scotiabank maintained Sector Perform, Morgan Stanley Equal Weight, and Citizens JMP initiated coverage at Hold. These more cautious ratings suggest some investors may wait for evidence that earnings and margins can remain strong.
• Negative Sentiment: Block set aside about $764 million toward a preliminary Justice Department settlement tied to money-laundering controls. The cost and ongoing compliance requirements could pressure cash flow and keep regulatory risk in focus. Reuters settlement report

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.

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