Block (NYSE:XYZ) Given New $103.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $95.00 to $103.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada‘s target price points to a potential upside of 18.14% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on XYZ. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Block from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Block in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.39.

Block Trading Up 14.7%

NYSE XYZ traded up $11.18 on Wednesday, hitting $87.18. 7,394,433 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,126,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.58. Block has a 52-week low of $48.21 and a 52-week high of $88.24.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.45. Block had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Block will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 6,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.44, for a total transaction of $446,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,212,672 shares in the company, valued at $90,271,303.68. This trade represents a 0.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 232,686 shares of company stock worth $18,360,227. Company insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XYZ. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 301.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 389 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Block during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Block during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Block News

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Block reported third-quarter earnings of $1.13 per share, up from $0.54 a year earlier, and revenue of $6.72 billion, up 9.9%. The company also raised its full-year profit outlook, citing Cash App strength; Square’s U.S. payment-volume growth accelerated. Reuters: Block raises full-year profit outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised targets: Susquehanna to $110 and Bank of America to $117, with positive and buy ratings, respectively. Needham reaffirmed its buy rating and $100 target. These moves suggest analysts see further upside. Susquehanna recommendations Bank of America recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP reaffirmed its “market perform” rating, signaling a more cautious view than the recent target increases. Citizens JMP recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Block expects to pay about $764 million to settle a Justice Department money-laundering-controls probe. The company has reserved funds, but uncertainty about whether the reserve will cover the settlement—and scrutiny of compliance controls—could weigh on investor sentiment. Report on DOJ probe and expected settlement

Block Company Profile

Block, Inc is a financial technology company that provides payments, commerce, and financial services through an ecosystem of business and consumer products. Formerly known as Square, the company was co-founded by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and changed its corporate name to Block in 2021.

Its Square ecosystem serves businesses with point-of-sale hardware, payment processing, invoicing, payroll, inventory management, customer engagement, online commerce, and other software tools. Block also offers lending and other financial services to eligible business customers through Square-related products.

For consumers, Block operates Cash App, a mobile financial services platform that supports services such as peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, a Cash App Card, direct deposit, investing, and bitcoin transactions, subject to product and geographic availability.