Block (NYSE:XYZ) Cut to "Neutral" at BNP Paribas Exane

Key Points

• Block has been downgraded by BNP Paribas Exane from an "outperform" rating to "neutral," with a new target price of $86.00 which represents an 11.62% upside potential from its previous close.
• The company reported a 3.3% decline in stock price, closing at $77.05, with a market cap of $46.97 billion and a recent trading volume of over 1.1 million shares.
• Block's recent quarterly earnings surpassed analysts' expectations, posting $0.62 earnings per share, although revenue of $6.05 billion fell short of the $6.32 billion forecast.

BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $86.00 price target on the technology company's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on Block from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Block from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Block from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.32.

Block Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:XYZ traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.91. The stock had a trading volume of 4,782,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,157,639. The business's 50 day moving average is $74.58 and its 200 day moving average is $64.42. Block has a fifty-two week low of $44.27 and a fifty-two week high of $99.26. The stock has a market cap of $45.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 2.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.41. Block had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 12.32%.The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.32 billion. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,424 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total value of $763,036.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 263,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,288,712.40. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,609 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total value of $264,178.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 127,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,311,918.40. This trade represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,757 shares of company stock valued at $8,207,757. 10.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at $602,000. Private Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at $380,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the second quarter worth about $565,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Block in the second quarter worth about $311,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Company Profile

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.