Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

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

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on XYZ. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Block from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Block from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Block from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.91.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of XYZ opened at $77.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.38, a PEG 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 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 for the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. Research analysts forecast that Block will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, Director Anthony Mathew Eisen sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 1,856,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,332,475.52. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 43,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 557,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,612,320. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. 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 worth $26,343,121 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $535,305,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth approximately $484,387,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth approximately $368,213,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Block by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,023,441 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,042,966,000 after purchasing an additional 4,727,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Block by 528.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,309,296 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $199,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting 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

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.