Block (NYSE:XYZ) Upgraded by Rothschild & Co Redburn to Neutral Rating

Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $55.00 target price on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $45.00.

XYZ has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America started coverage on Block in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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 cut their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $72.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Block Stock Performance

Block stock opened at $57.87 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.88. Block has a 1 year low of $44.27 and a 1 year high of $82.50. The company has a market cap of $35.17 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.66%. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Block’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $517,450.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 503,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,189,200. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $76,350.57. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 98,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,405,637.08. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,165,720. 10.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

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

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.