Block (NYSE:XYZ) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $94.00 to $86.00. The stock had previously closed at $70.93, but opened at $61.36. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Block shares last traded at $62.73, with a volume of 3,557,623 shares trading hands.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $82.00 target price on shares of Block and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Block from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Block from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $60,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 102,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,184,640. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 35,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $2,811,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 535,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,871,680. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 119,041 shares of company stock valued at $9,052,531. 10.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter worth $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $76.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.69. The firm has a market cap of $39.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 2.73.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 12.32%.Block’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.