Block (NYSE:XYZ) Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Block (NYSE:XYZ)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $70.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on XYZ. Compass Point raised shares of Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Block from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research lowered Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Block from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.47.

Block Stock Performance

XYZ traded up $8.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.43. 6,760,992 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,860,739. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.28. Block has a fifty-two week low of $44.27 and a fifty-two week high of $82.50. The company has a market capitalization of $38.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 2.67.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 822 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $52,591.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 242,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,529,097.64. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $76,350.57. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 98,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,405,637.08. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 16,797 shares of company stock valued at $940,298 over the last 90 days. 10.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,730,489,000. Sands Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at $702,446,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the second quarter worth $634,721,000. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Block in the second quarter valued at $627,233,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at about $535,305,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block News Summary

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

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.