Block (NYSE:XYZ) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Barclays

Block (NYSE:XYZ) was upgraded by analysts at Barclays to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Block from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup downgraded Block from a “buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Block from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.91.

Block Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of XYZ stock opened at $77.28 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 2.54. Block has a 12-month low of $48.21 and a 12-month high of $82.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $72.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.03.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $6.06 billion during the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 7.02% and a net margin of 3.30%.Block’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Block has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.860-0.860 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.850-3.850 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Block will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 43,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $3,467,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 557,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,612,320. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Mathew Eisen sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.66, for a total transaction of $459,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,856,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,332,475.52. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 345,219 shares of company stock valued at $26,343,121 over the last 90 days. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Block by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Block by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 707 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Block by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,270 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Block by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Block by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 8,035 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Block

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Block was upgraded to Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), a signal that analysts see improving earnings prospects and potential near-term upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several Zacks momentum and value screens also added XYZ to their Strong Buy lists, reinforcing the recent bullish sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary pointed to accelerating GPV growth in Square, suggesting Block’s merchant ecosystem is still expanding. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales by directors Brian Grassadonia and Anthony Mathew Eisen may weigh on sentiment, but the trades were disclosed as part of pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Block’s $45 million settlement over Cash App fraud-protection allegations could pressure the shares by keeping regulatory and reputational concerns in focus. Article Title

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.