Block (NYSE:XYZ) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Scotiabank

Investment analysts at Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “sector perform” rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on XYZ. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Block from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Block from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.84.

Block Stock Down 5.2%

Block stock opened at $77.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.73 billion, a PE ratio of 138.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 2.53. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.52. Block has a twelve month low of $48.21 and a twelve month high of $86.92.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.54. Block had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.020 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.020-1.020 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Block will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 43,348 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 557,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,612,320. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Mathew Eisen sold 41,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.85, for a total transaction of $3,519,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,566,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,498,791.20. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 378,006 shares of company stock worth $30,161,501 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Block by 6,740.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,852,088 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,168,759,000 after purchasing an additional 54,050,161 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Block in the second quarter valued at $621,703,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 4,727,217 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Block by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,406,899 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $934,121,000 after acquiring an additional 67,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $535,305,000. 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.