Block (NYSE:XYZ) Receives Buy Rating from BTIG Research

Block (NYSE:XYZ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at BTIG Research in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $90.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 65.02% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on XYZ. Compass Point upgraded Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $87.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Block from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.47.

Block Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of Block stock opened at $54.54 on Friday. Block has a 1 year low of $44.27 and a 1 year high of $82.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.28. The company has a market cap of $33.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 2.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Block will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $52,591.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 242,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,529,097.64. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $70,441.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 271,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,393,858.72. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,797 shares of company stock valued at $940,298. Insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Block during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth about $26,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

More Block News

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shares jumped after Block announced it will cut roughly 4,000 jobs (about half its staff) as it leans into AI and smaller teams; investors are pricing in faster efficiency and lower ongoing expenses. Jack Dorsey’s Block laying off more than 4,000 employees, about half of its workforce
• Positive Sentiment: Block reported Q4 EPS of $0.65, beating consensus of $0.26 and signaling better-than-expected near-term profitability despite modest revenue growth; that helped support the rally. Block (XYZ) Meets Q4 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted AI productivity gains (CFO said engineer output up ~40%), reinforcing the narrative that layoffs will be accompanied by material efficiency improvements. CEO Jack Dorsey issued a dire warning about AI’s impact as he cuts Block by almost half
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Jack Dorsey framed the move as correcting COVID-era overhiring and flattening org structure for the AI era — context that explains management rationale but leaves execution risks unresolved. Jack Dorsey’s mea culpa on Block layoffs: ‘We overhired’
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and futures trading were mixed, meaning broader risk sentiment (inflation prints, macro) could influence how durable the stock move is. Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Future Drop Ahead Of January Wholesale Inflation Print—Netflix, Block, Rocket Lab In Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Block expects roughly $450M–$500M of restructuring and severance charges tied to the layoffs, which will weigh on near-term free cash flow and reported results. Jack Dorsey’s Block to Lay Off 4,000 Employees in AI Remake
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder-watchdog activity: Halper Sadeh is probing potential fiduciary breaches, introducing legal/PR risk that could distract management or produce claims. Halper Sadeh LLC Encourages Block, Inc. Shareholders To Contact The Firm To Discuss Their Rights

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.