Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Key Points

• Bank of America raised its price target on Block to $117 from $115 and maintained a Buy rating, implying 54.4% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall have a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $96.81.
• Block reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating the $0.68 estimate, while revenue rose 9.9% year over year to $6.72 billion. The company also raised its full-year profit outlook, with Cash App growth and accelerating Square payment volume cited as drivers.
• Block reached a preliminary settlement with the Department of Justice, which may ease regulatory uncertainty; the settlement’s terms and financial impact were not reported.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $115.00 to $117.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the technology company's stock. Bank of America's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 54.41% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on XYZ. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Scotiabank began coverage on Block in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Block from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.81.

Block Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE XYZ opened at $75.77 on Wednesday. Block has a 1 year low of $48.21 and a 1 year high of $86.92. The stock has a market cap of $45.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.79 and a 200 day 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.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter. Block had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The company's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Block will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.48, for a total transaction of $488,880.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,482,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,808,114.56. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,511 shares of Block stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 423,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,889,486.66. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 232,686 shares of company stock worth $18,360,227 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Key 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

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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