Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Rating Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $89.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $100.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Block from $98.00 to $97.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Block from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.31.

Block Stock Performance

XYZ stock opened at $65.93 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a one year low of $55.00 and a one year high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). Block had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 11.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.23 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.72, for a total value of $177,255.68. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 83,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,281,531.52. This trade represents a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total transaction of $129,953.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,955,057.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,247 shares of company stock valued at $832,865. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of Block by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $686,948,000 after buying an additional 147,873 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Block by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,690,075 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $581,923,000 after acquiring an additional 133,002 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Block by 2.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,202,388 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $147,846,000 after acquiring an additional 45,472 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Block by 770.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares during the period. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

About Block

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.