Block (NYSE:XYZ) Raised to “Overweight” at Morgan Stanley

Block (NYSE:XYZ) was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $93.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $72.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 70.52% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on XYZ. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Block from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Block from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Block from $87.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Compass Point raised shares of Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.47.

Block Trading Up 5.0%

Block stock opened at $54.54 on Friday. Block has a 52 week low of $44.27 and a 52 week high of $82.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 2.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.28.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $52,591.56. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 242,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,529,097.64. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $70,441.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 271,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,393,858.72. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 16,797 shares of company stock valued at $940,298 over the last quarter. 10.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Block during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Block

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shares jumped after Block announced it will cut roughly 4,000 jobs (about half its staff) as it leans into AI and smaller teams; investors are pricing in faster efficiency and lower ongoing expenses. Jack Dorsey’s Block laying off more than 4,000 employees, about half of its workforce
• Positive Sentiment: Block reported Q4 EPS of $0.65, beating consensus of $0.26 and signaling better-than-expected near-term profitability despite modest revenue growth; that helped support the rally. Block (XYZ) Meets Q4 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted AI productivity gains (CFO said engineer output up ~40%), reinforcing the narrative that layoffs will be accompanied by material efficiency improvements. CEO Jack Dorsey issued a dire warning about AI’s impact as he cuts Block by almost half
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Jack Dorsey framed the move as correcting COVID-era overhiring and flattening org structure for the AI era — context that explains management rationale but leaves execution risks unresolved. Jack Dorsey’s mea culpa on Block layoffs: ‘We overhired’
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and futures trading were mixed, meaning broader risk sentiment (inflation prints, macro) could influence how durable the stock move is. Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Future Drop Ahead Of January Wholesale Inflation Print—Netflix, Block, Rocket Lab In Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Block expects roughly $450M–$500M of restructuring and severance charges tied to the layoffs, which will weigh on near-term free cash flow and reported results. Jack Dorsey’s Block to Lay Off 4,000 Employees in AI Remake
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder-watchdog activity: Halper Sadeh is probing potential fiduciary breaches, introducing legal/PR risk that could distract management or produce claims. Halper Sadeh LLC Encourages Block, Inc. Shareholders To Contact The Firm To Discuss Their Rights

About Block

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.