Cantor Fitzgerald Issues Positive Forecast for Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Price

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald raised Block’s price target from $95 to $102 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 19.18% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Block has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $98.52.
• Block reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating the $0.68 consensus estimate; revenue reached $6.72 billion, up 9.9% year over year.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $95.00 to $102.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the technology company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 19.18% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on XYZ. Bank of America increased their price objective on Block from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Clear Str raised Block to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Block from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.52.

Block Price Performance

XYZ opened at $85.58 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.65, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 2.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.92 and a 200 day moving average of $71.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Block has a fifty-two week low of $48.21 and a fifty-two week high of $88.51.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.45. Block had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Block will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 35,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.50, for a total transaction of $3,062,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,177,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,046,300. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 255,686 shares of company stock worth $20,453,487. Company insiders own 11.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $621,703,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Block by 18.3% in the 3rd 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 boosted its position in shares of Block by 6.9% during the second quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,682,854 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $203,897,000 after purchasing an additional 172,848 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Block by 528.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,309,296 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $199,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Block by 1.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,147,988 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $189,353,000 after purchasing an additional 39,112 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

About Block

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.

Founded in 2009 as Square by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, the company adopted the name Block in 2021.

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