Block (NYSE:XYZ) Given New $77.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its target price for Block's stock from $73.00 to $77.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.93% from the stock's previous close.
• Block's latest earnings report showed a significant earnings per share (EPS) of $0.62, surpassing analysts' expectations despite a revenue decline compared to the previous year.
• Institutional investors own approximately 70.44% of Block's shares, with notable new positions taken by Geode Capital Management and ARK Investment Management in the second quarter.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the technology company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.14% from the company's current price.

XYZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Compass Point restated a "sell" rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Block from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Benchmark lowered shares of Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KGI Securities raised shares of Block to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.24.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of XYZ stock traded down $0.82 during trading on Monday, reaching $76.13. 6,555,443 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,135,316. The company has a market capitalization of $46.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 2.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's 50-day moving average is $70.22 and its 200 day moving average is $65.50. Block has a 1 year low of $44.27 and a 1 year high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.32 billion. Block had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Block will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 16,358 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.60, for a total transaction of $1,285,738.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 308,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,240,004.20. This represents a 5.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dhananjay Prasanna sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $32,796.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 298,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,494,594.49. The trade was a 0.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,438 shares of company stock worth $6,217,707 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

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.