Block (NYSE:XYZ) Given New $117.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Bank of America from $115.00 to $117.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 54.41% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on XYZ. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Friday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank started coverage on Block in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.81.

Block Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:XYZ opened at $75.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $45.52 billion, a PE ratio of 135.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.18. Block has a 12 month low of $48.21 and a 12 month high of $86.92.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 1.43%. Block’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Block will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total value of $783,991.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 423,262 shares in the company, valued at $34,889,486.66. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Eisen sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.48, for a total value of $488,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,482,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,808,114.56. This represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 232,686 shares of company stock worth $18,360,227 in the last 90 days. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter worth about $621,703,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Block by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,194,419 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $234,886,000 after acquiring an additional 494,083 shares during the period. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Block by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,682,854 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $203,897,000 after acquiring an additional 172,848 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Block by 528.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,309,296 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $199,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782,523 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Block by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,147,988 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $189,353,000 after acquiring an additional 39,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Block beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.13 per share. Revenue was $6.72 billion, up 9.9% year over year, and net income rose to $565.6 million from $461.5 million. Block Q3 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year profit outlook after gross profit growth exceeded its guidance. Cash App drove quarterly growth, while Square’s U.S. payment volume growth accelerated, suggesting its sales efforts are gaining traction. Block raises full-year profit outlook as Cash App drives Q3 growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Block reached a preliminary settlement with the Department of Justice. A resolution could reduce regulatory uncertainty, but the available report does not specify the settlement’s terms or financial impact. Block lifts profit outlook on Cash App strength, reaches preliminary DOJ settlement
• Negative Sentiment: A post-earnings analysis noted that losses climbed even as adjusted profit increased, highlighting potential cost pressures that could temper optimism about the outlook. Block’s Adjusted Profit Jumps as Losses Climb

Block Company Profile

Block, Inc is a financial technology company that provides payments, commerce, and financial services through an ecosystem of business and consumer products. Formerly known as Square, the company was co-founded by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and changed its corporate name to Block in 2021.

Its Square ecosystem serves businesses with point-of-sale hardware, payment processing, invoicing, payroll, inventory management, customer engagement, online commerce, and other software tools. Block also offers lending and other financial services to eligible business customers through Square-related products.

For consumers, Block operates Cash App, a mobile financial services platform that supports services such as peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, a Cash App Card, direct deposit, investing, and bitcoin transactions, subject to product and geographic availability.