BTIG Research Reaffirms Buy Rating for Block (NYSE:XYZ)

Block (NYSE:XYZ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $90.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 40.75% from the stock’s current price.

XYZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Block from $71.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Block from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $94.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up previously from $79.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.64.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XYZ traded down $6.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.94. 9,534,524 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,975,000. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Block has a 52 week low of $44.27 and a 52 week high of $99.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 2.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.69.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. Block had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,424 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total value of $763,036.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 263,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,288,712.40. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 35,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $2,811,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 535,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,871,680. The trade was a 6.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 119,041 shares of company stock worth $9,052,531. 10.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in XYZ. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter worth $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Block in the second quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Company Profile

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.