Barclays Lowers Block (NYSE:XYZ) Price Target to $97.00

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price target reduced by Barclays from $112.00 to $97.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on XYZ. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Block from $115.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.31.

Block Price Performance

NYSE XYZ opened at $65.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. Block has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $99.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.53.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 3,253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $221,236.53. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 548,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,310,081.97. This represents a 0.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,832 shares of company stock valued at $1,921,288. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SouthState Corp lifted its stake in shares of Block by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 64.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Block by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Block by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Block in the 3rd quarter worth about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.