Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Price

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $85.00 to $80.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 33.91% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 27th. HSBC raised Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Block from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.91.

Block Price Performance

XYZ traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.74. 1,857,926 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,719,605. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.34. Block has a 52-week low of $44.27 and a 52-week high of $82.50. The company has a market capitalization of $35.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.66%. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 3,555 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.41, for a total transaction of $225,422.55. Following the sale, the insider owned 231,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,664,323.42. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $76,350.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 98,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,405,637.08. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,352 shares of company stock worth $1,165,720. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter worth $27,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth $28,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.