Block (NYSE:XYZ) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $52.25 and last traded at $52.68, with a volume of 993095 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $55.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Block from $112.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Block from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Block from $98.00 to $97.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $87.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Block in a report on Saturday, February 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.11.

Block Trading Down 2.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $33.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.20.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its earnings results 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). Block had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.23 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,345 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $446,180.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 235,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,585,253.28. This represents a 2.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $103,159.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 82,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,329.68. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,967 shares of company stock valued at $1,649,113. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Block by 64.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Block by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in Block by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 15.8% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Company Profile

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.