Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Rating Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• Block was upgraded to a "hold" by BMO Capital Markets; analysts' coverage shows 4 Strong Buy, 27 Buy, 7 Hold and 1 Sell, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.67.
• In the quarter announced Feb. 26, Block reported EPS $0.65 versus $0.26 expected and revenue of $6.25 billion (up 3.6% YoY); the stock trades around $72.47 with a market cap near $43.4 billion.
• Insiders sold about 49,725 shares (≈$3.4M) over the last quarter—insider ownership is 10.85%—while institutional investors hold roughly 70.44% of the company.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

XYZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Block from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Block from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.67.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $72.47 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $60.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 2.61. Block has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $82.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.66%. The business's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Block will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 268,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,112,675. The trade was a 1.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $517,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at $25,189,200. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,725 shares of company stock valued at $3,401,393. 10.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Block by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,626,485 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,887,366,000 after buying an additional 12,709,824 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth $535,305,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth $484,387,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Block by 192.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,296,224 shares of the technology company's stock worth $816,378,000 after purchasing an additional 7,436,380 shares during the period. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth $368,213,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Company Profile

Block NYSE: XYZ is a financial technology company that builds products and services to facilitate electronic payments, commerce, and consumer finance. Its principal business lines include a seller-focused ecosystem that provides point-of-sale hardware and software, payment processing, invoicing, payroll and lending services, and a consumer-facing platform that offers peer-to-peer payments, banking-like features, and investing. Block's portfolio also encompasses music streaming and buy-now-pay-later capabilities through businesses acquired to broaden its reach beyond core payments.

The company was founded as Square in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and later rebranded to Block to reflect a diversified set of businesses across payments, consumer finance, and emerging technologies.

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