Block (NYSE:XYZ) Downgraded to “Equal Weight” Rating by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $50.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $95.00.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on XYZ. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Block from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Block in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.03.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $46.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.86. Block has a one year low of $44.27 and a one year high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). Block had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 11.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.23 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 1,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total transaction of $70,967.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 181,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,221,185.76. This represents a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,345 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $446,180.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 235,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,585,253.28. This trade represents a 2.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,324 shares of company stock valued at $1,297,662. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Block by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Block by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in Block by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Block by 92.3% during the 4th quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

About Block

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.