Block's (XYZ) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at BTIG Research

Key Points

• BTIG reaffirmed its "Buy" rating on Block with a $90 price target (implying ~28% upside), and several other firms have raised ratings or targets, leaving Block with a consensus Moderate Buy and an average target of $83.60.
• Block delivered a strong Q1 beat (EPS $0.85 vs. $0.30 expected; revenue $6.06B) and raised guidance to Q2 EPS $0.86 and FY 2026 EPS $3.85, citing AI-driven automation and Cash App lending expansion as key growth drivers.
• Some caution: insiders have sold roughly 49,725 shares (~$3.4M) in the past 90 days (insiders still own 11.37%), and the company’s sweeping job cuts pose potential execution and reputational risks to long-term growth.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $90.00 price objective on the technology company's stock. BTIG Research's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 28.21% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Block from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Block from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Block from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Block from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.60.

Block Stock Down 0.9%

Block stock opened at $70.20 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $48.13 and a fifty-two week high of $82.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.19. The firm has a market cap of $42.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 2.57.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $6.06 billion for the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 6.66% and a net margin of 5.40%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Block has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.860-0.860 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.850-3.850 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Block will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,769 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.25, for a total transaction of $106,582.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 500,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,170,970.75. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 3,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.41, for a total value of $225,422.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 231,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,664,323.42. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 49,725 shares of company stock worth $3,401,393 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Block by 24.0% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 179,271 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $12,956,000 after purchasing an additional 34,678 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,383,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the 3rd quarter worth $5,400,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Block by 2,385.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 612,358 shares of the technology company's stock worth $44,255,000 after acquiring an additional 587,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Block during the third quarter worth about $2,323,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Block News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and revenue strength — Block reported $0.85 EPS vs. consensus and posted solid revenue, surprising investors and underpinning optimism on profitability. Block Shares Climb After Q1 Report — Here's Why
• Positive Sentiment: Raised guidance — management lifted Q2 2026 EPS guidance to $0.86 (vs. ~$0.74 consensus) and set FY 2026 EPS at $3.85 (vs. ~$3.35 consensus), signaling better-than-expected margin and profit outlooks that justify re-rating. Block Lifts Guidance on Higher Payment Volumes, Boom in Lending
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product-led revenue expansion — management emphasized AI-driven automation and using Cash App as a lending hub (embedded finance + tighter merchant/consumer links), which supports sustainable revenue diversification and higher loan volumes. Block Rallies as AI Push Turns Cash App Into a Lending Hub
• Neutral Sentiment: Gross-profit/consumer resilience — Block raised gross profit targets (now ~$12.33B) on resilient consumer spending and strong payment volumes; positive for top-line stability but depends on continued volume trends. Block Lifts Guidance on Higher Payment Volumes, Boom in Lending
• Neutral Sentiment: Company updates and investor call — Block posted Q1 results and hosted an earnings webcast to walk through the quarter and strategy; useful detail but largely confirmatory. Block Announces First Quarter 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Sweeping job cuts remain a risk — while management and some coverage (Barron’s) say cuts are improving margins, the scale of reductions creates execution, product-development and reputational risks that could weigh on longer-term growth if not managed. Block Stock Jumps After Earnings. How Those Vast Job Cuts Are Working Out.

About Block

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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