Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Positive Forecast for Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Price

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $95.00 to $110.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 27.23% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Block from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Block from $107.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Block from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.32.

Block Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:XYZ traded up $0.88 on Wednesday, hitting $86.46. 1,966,561 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,202,984. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.58. Block has a 12 month low of $48.21 and a 12 month high of $89.39.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.45. Block had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Block’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Block will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.50, for a total transaction of $3,062,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,177,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,046,300. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 8,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total value of $673,618.66. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 513,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,362,314.02. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 249,686 shares of company stock worth $19,981,767. Company insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $366,000. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 295.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 25,999 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 19,423 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Block by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,637 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,191,000 after acquiring an additional 18,326 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth $13,291,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Block by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,607,286 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $96,726,000 after acquiring an additional 101,300 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Company Profile

Block, Inc. is a financial technology company that provides payment and commerce tools to businesses and financial services for consumers. Its products include Square, a platform offering payment processing, point-of-sale software and related business services, and Cash App, which provides person-to-person payments and other financial features. The company also owns Afterpay, a buy-now, pay-later service, and TIDAL, a music and entertainment platform. Block serves businesses and consumers in the United States and other markets, with product availability varying by country.