Block (NYSE:XYZ) Price Target Cut to $90.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $97.00 to $90.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 37.43% from the company’s current price.

XYZ has been the topic of several other reports. Compass Point reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Block from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Block from $96.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Block from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Four equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.58.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XYZ traded down $5.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.49. The company had a trading volume of 21,385,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,038,066. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 2.73. Block has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, insider Dhananjay Prasanna sold 5,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.72, for a total value of $417,181.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 289,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,341,350.24. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total transaction of $763,036.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 263,507 shares in the company, valued at $19,288,712.40. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 119,041 shares of company stock valued at $9,052,531 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,055,000. Lane Generational LLC bought a new stake in Block during the second quarter worth about $6,043,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in Block during the second quarter worth about $62,389,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in Block in the second quarter worth about $6,094,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $311,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Block

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.