Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Mizuho Analyst Says

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its target price increased by Mizuho from $88.00 to $100.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective points to a potential upside of 61.60% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on XYZ. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.42.

Block Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE XYZ opened at $61.88 on Thursday. Block has a 12-month low of $44.27 and a 12-month high of $99.26. The company has a market cap of $37.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 2.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. Block had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 12.99%.The company had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Block will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,581 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $493,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 285,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,416,325. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 35,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $2,811,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 535,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,871,680. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 61,360 shares of company stock worth $4,799,162. 10.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the second quarter worth $2,055,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter worth about $1,628,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $311,000. Lane Generational LLC bought a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,043,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,389,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.