Block (NYSE:XYZ) Receives “Buy” Rating from BTIG Research

by · The Cerbat Gem

BTIG Research restated their buy rating on shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ – Free Report) in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $90.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Block from $96.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Block from $71.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Block from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.36.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on XYZ

Block Trading Down 3.1%

XYZ stock traded down $1.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.38. 9,185,445 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,633,991. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $74.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 2.73. Block has a 52-week low of $44.27 and a 52-week high of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 2.18.

Block (NYSE:XYZ – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.29. Block had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 12.99%.The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Dhananjay Prasanna sold 5,659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.72, for a total transaction of $417,181.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 289,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,341,350.24. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total transaction of $264,178.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,311,918.40. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,441 shares of company stock valued at $8,778,247. 10.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Block

(Get Free Report)

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.

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