Block (NYSE:XYZ) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Block shares reached a new 52-week high of $86.92, while the stock’s average analyst rating remains “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $95.84.
• Block reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, beating estimates of $0.48, while revenue rose 9.3% year over year to $6.62 billion.
• Despite strong institutional ownership of 70.44%, insiders sold about $39.1 million worth of shares over the past 90 days; the stock also carries a high P/E ratio of 152.63.

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $86.92 and last traded at $85.9310, with a volume of 2413346 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XYZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Block from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Block from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Block from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Block to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.84.

Block Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $79.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market cap of $51.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.63, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.53.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.54. Block had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.020 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.020-1.020 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,511 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total transaction of $783,991.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 423,262 shares in the company, valued at $34,889,486.66. This trade represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,173 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total transaction of $673,618.66. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 513,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,362,314.02. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 495,756 shares of company stock worth $39,090,259. Corporate insiders own 11.37% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Block by 6,740.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,852,088 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,168,759,000 after purchasing an additional 54,050,161 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $621,703,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter worth $535,305,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth $484,387,000. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at $368,213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company's stock.

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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