Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Price

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised its price target for Block to $95 from $89 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 11.1% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Block has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $99.95.
• Block reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating the $0.68 consensus estimate; revenue was $6.72 billion, up 9.9% year over year.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $89.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the technology company's stock. Truist Financial's price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.10% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. President Capital upped their price target on shares of Block from $86.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Block from $96.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Block from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Block currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.95.

Block Price Performance

Shares of XYZ opened at $85.51 on Wednesday. Block has a twelve month low of $48.21 and a twelve month high of $89.39. The stock's 50 day moving average is $78.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 1.80%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Block will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.50, for a total value of $3,062,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,177,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,046,300. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total value of $673,618.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 513,981 shares in the company, valued at $42,362,314.02. This trade represents a 1.57% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 249,686 shares of company stock valued at $19,981,767. 11.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XYZ. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $366,000. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its position in 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. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Block by 35.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $13,291,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Block by 6.7% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,607,286 shares of the technology company's stock worth $96,726,000 after acquiring an additional 101,300 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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