Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Block (NYSE:XYZ – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

XYZ has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Block from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Block to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Block from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.79.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on XYZ

Block Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of XYZ opened at $59.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.64. Block has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $82.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $61.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a return on equity of 6.66% and a net margin of 5.40%.The business had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $517,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,189,200. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $70,441.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 271,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,393,858.72. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,165,720. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

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

About Block

(Get Free Report)

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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