Evanson Financial LLC Invests $1.68 Million in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Evanson Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 22,160 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,684,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors grew its position in Block by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,023,441 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,042,966,000 after acquiring an additional 4,727,217 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,406,899 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $934,121,000 after purchasing an additional 67,560 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $535,305,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $484,387,000. Finally, Tiger Global Management LLC increased its position in Block by 43.9% during the 4th quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 6,364,840 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $414,287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941,528 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Block News

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Block beat second-quarter expectations. Adjusted earnings were $1.02 per share, ahead of estimates of $0.48–$0.86 and up from $0.62 a year earlier. Revenue rose 9.3% year over year to $6.62 billion, supported by strength in Cash App and Square. Block Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its earnings outlook. Block forecast third-quarter EPS of $1.02, above the $0.93 consensus, and lifted fiscal 2026 EPS guidance to $4.02 from expectations of $3.62. Management also highlighted 25% gross-profit growth, record margins and momentum from AI-driven products. Block Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts increased their targets. TD Cowen raised its target to $105, while RBC, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Susquehanna and Needham also lifted targets, generally maintaining bullish ratings. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its overweight rating with a $95 target.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity was unusually bullish. Investors purchased 42,107 call options, approximately 55% above typical daily call volume, suggesting increased speculative interest but not guaranteeing sustained buying.
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders sold shares. Director Anthony Mathew Eisen sold 47,000 shares for roughly $4.0 million across two transactions, while Brian Grassadonia sold 25,908 shares for about $2.1 million. All sales were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their negative significance, but the transactions may still pressure sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and expectations remain elevated. With a high P/E ratio and the stock near its 52-week high, investors may be taking profits even after the earnings beat. Future gains will likely depend on Block converting AI initiatives, cost reductions and Cash App/Square growth into durable profitability.

Block Trading Down 5.7%

XYZ opened at $79.36 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.21 and a fifty-two week high of $86.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.72, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 2.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $76.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.95.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.09%. Block’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.020 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.020-1.020 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on XYZ shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Block to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 25,908 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total value of $2,115,129.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 531,746 shares in the company, valued at $43,411,743.44. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Mathew Eisen sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.07, for a total value of $498,420.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,560,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,645,023.04. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 432,208 shares of company stock worth $33,773,675. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.