Argus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock

Block (NYSE:XYZ – Get Free Report) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Argus from $103.00 to $105.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Argus‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 22.69% from the company’s previous close.

XYZ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Block from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.36.

View Our Latest Stock Report on XYZ

Block Price Performance

Shares of Block stock traded up $1.54 on Thursday, hitting $85.58. 7,756,635 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,670,644. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.58. Block has a 1-year low of $48.21 and a 1-year high of $88.51.

Block (NYSE:XYZ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.45. Block had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Block will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.50, for a total value of $3,062,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,177,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,046,300. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 261,686 shares of company stock valued at $20,924,307. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NovaPoint Capital LLC raised its position in Block by 3.9% in the third quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its position in shares of Block by 0.3% during the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 44,901 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,503,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 2.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 5,885 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Block by 1.5% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 11,888 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $874,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Block by 3.3% in the second quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Block

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Several firms raised price targets, reinforcing expectations for further gains. UBS lifted its target to $105, Raymond James to $100 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, and BMO to $102 with a “market perform” rating. Wells Fargo raised its target to $110 and Barclays to $105, both with “overweight” ratings; Argus raised its target to $105 and maintained “buy.” UBS rating Raymond James rating BMO target update Wells Fargo rating Barclays rating Argus rating
  • Positive Sentiment: Block reported better-than-expected earnings, with quarterly EPS of $1.13 versus the $0.68 consensus and revenue growth of 9.9% year over year. Shares subsequently reached a 52-week high, and traders bought a large volume of call options—signals of favorable investor expectations. Earnings and 52-week high Call options activity
  • Neutral Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its target from $75 to $85 but kept a “neutral” rating, putting its estimate close to the recent share price. Redburn target update
  • Negative Sentiment: Block reportedly made another round of job cuts this year, affecting employees in its Cash App businesses. The reductions may raise concerns about execution or operating pressures despite the recent earnings beat. Report on Block job cuts

Block Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Block, Inc is a financial technology company that provides payment and commerce tools to businesses and financial services for consumers. Its products include Square, a platform offering payment processing, point-of-sale software and related business services, and Cash App, which provides person-to-person payments and other financial features.

The company also owns Afterpay, a buy-now, pay-later service, and TIDAL, a music and entertainment platform. Block serves businesses and consumers in the United States and other markets, with product availability varying by country.

Founded in 2009 as Square by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, the company adopted the name Block in 2021.

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Analyst Recommendations for Block (NYSE:XYZ)

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