Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on XYZ. HSBC upgraded shares of Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Block from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.51.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of XYZ stock opened at $69.87 on Tuesday. Block has a 12 month low of $48.21 and a 12 month high of $82.50. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $41.86 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 2.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.06.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.55. Block had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 7.02%. The firm had revenue of $6.06 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Block has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.860-0.860 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.850-3.850 EPS. Analysts forecast that Block will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $517,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,189,200. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 3,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.41, for a total transaction of $225,422.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 231,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,664,323.42. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 49,725 shares of company stock valued at $3,401,393 in the last ninety days. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Block by 24.0% in the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 179,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,956,000 after acquiring an additional 34,678 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Block in the third quarter valued at $5,400,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Block by 2,385.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 612,358 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,255,000 after acquiring an additional 587,719 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Block in the third quarter valued at $2,323,000. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Block in the third quarter valued at $4,305,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.