Block (NYSE:XYZ) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ) from a strong sell rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair downgraded shares of Block to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Block from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.64.

Block Price Performance

Shares of XYZ opened at $81.46 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.66 and a 200-day moving average of $66.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The company has a market capitalization of $48.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.54. Block has a 1 year low of $48.21 and a 1 year high of $84.08.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $6.06 billion for the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 7.02% and a net margin of 3.30%.The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Block has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.860-0.860 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.850-3.850 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Block will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, Director Anthony Mathew Eisen sold 6,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.35, for a total value of $470,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,838,672 shares in the company, valued at $144,059,951.20. The trade was a 0.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 43,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $3,467,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 557,654 shares in the company, valued at $44,612,320. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 357,219 shares of company stock valued at $27,286,681. Insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 301.0% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 389 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Block by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 610 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Company Profile

Block (NYSE:XYZ) is a financial technology company that builds products and services to facilitate electronic payments, commerce, and consumer finance. Its principal business lines include a seller-focused ecosystem that provides point-of-sale hardware and software, payment processing, invoicing, payroll and lending services, and a consumer-facing platform that offers peer-to-peer payments, banking-like features, and investing. Block’s portfolio also encompasses music streaming and buy-now-pay-later capabilities through businesses acquired to broaden its reach beyond core payments.

The company was founded as Square in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and later rebranded to Block to reflect a diversified set of businesses across payments, consumer finance, and emerging technologies.