Block (NYSE:XYZ) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Block (NYSE:XYZ) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Block from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Clear Str upgraded Block to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Block in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.84.

Block Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:XYZ opened at $81.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market cap of $48.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.54. Block has a 52 week low of $48.21 and a 52 week high of $84.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.50.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.55. Block had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 7.02%. The firm had revenue of $6.06 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Block’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Block has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.860-0.860 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.850-3.850 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Block will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 8,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $606,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 463,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,743,450. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Mathew Eisen sold 135,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.81, for a total value of $10,426,957.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,032,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,153,961.90. The trade was a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 347,300 shares of company stock valued at $26,657,536. Company insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Block by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 301.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 389 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 57.6% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 610 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Company Profile

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.