Block (NYSE:XYZ) Given “Buy” Rating at BTIG Research

Block (NYSE:XYZ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at BTIG Research in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $90.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 40.75% from the company’s previous close.

XYZ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Block in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Compass Point reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.64.

Block Stock Down 9.9%

Shares of Block stock traded down $6.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,534,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,975,000. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.69. The company has a market cap of $38.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 2.73. Block has a 1-year low of $44.27 and a 1-year high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. Block had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 12.32%.The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Block’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total value of $763,036.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 263,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,288,712.40. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total transaction of $729,511.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 298,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,845,149.20. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,041 shares of company stock worth $9,052,531. Insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in Block in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.