Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Rating Upgraded by Raymond James Financial

Block (NYSE:XYZ) was upgraded by Raymond James Financial to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Block from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Block from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.97.

Block Stock Performance

XYZ opened at $63.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.18. Block has a 12-month low of $44.27 and a 12-month high of $82.50.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.67%. Block’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $52,591.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 242,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,529,097.64. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $517,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at $25,189,200. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,797 shares of company stock worth $940,298. Corporate insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Block by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Block by 23.1% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 853 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Block by 0.8% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,183 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 707 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Block News

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management announced cuts of roughly 4,000 roles (nearly half the workforce) and said it will accelerate integrating AI to boost efficiency — a move investors interpreted as materially lowering future operating costs and improving margins. Reuters: Block shares soar as Dorsey leans on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Block reported Q4 results with EPS roughly in line with consensus and revenue up year-over-year (~$6.25B), and management raised 2026 outlook — the combination supported the rally. Zacks: Block Stock Soars
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised ratings/price targets (TD Cowen, Morgan Stanley, Needham, Oppenheimer, BTIG, Cantor Fitzgerald), signaling analyst confidence that the restructuring and AI investments boost long-term value. Benzinga roundup
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro headwinds and market volatility are present (weak futures / sector rotation), which could cap broader market upside even as Block-specific news drives the stock. Zacks: Oil Surges / Market Moves
• Negative Sentiment: The restructuring will incur substantial one-time costs (reported $450–$500M in severance and charges), which will weigh on near-term cash flow and reported results. WSJ: Layoff costs
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators caution the boost from cuts and AI may not be durable; Seeking Alpha flagged a downgrade risk, and regulators/law firms (Halper Sadeh) are probing potential fiduciary issues — both represent execution and governance risks. Seeking Alpha: Downgrade concerns PR Newswire: Investor probe

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.