Block (NYSE:XYZ) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

XYZ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $105.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.42.

Block Stock Down 0.5%

XYZ stock opened at $79.03 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.12, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 2.52. Block has a fifty-two week low of $48.21 and a fifty-two week high of $86.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.58 and a 200-day moving average of $72.01.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.54. Block had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 1.43%.The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.020 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.020-1.020 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Block will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Owen Jennings sold 1,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.48, for a total transaction of $107,309.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 460,128 shares in the company, valued at $37,491,229.44. The trade was a 0.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Eisen sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.39, for a total transaction of $470,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,416,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,052,918.08. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their position. 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 378,006 shares of company stock worth $30,430,901 in the last three months. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Block by 301.0% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 389 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Block in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 610 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

About Block

Block, Inc is a global technology company that develops financial services and commerce tools for businesses and consumers. Founded in 2009 as Square, the company changed its corporate name to Block in 2021 to reflect the expansion of its operations beyond seller-focused payment solutions.

Through its Square ecosystem, Block provides payment processing, point-of-sale hardware and software, business banking, invoicing, payroll, inventory management and other tools for merchants. Its consumer-focused Cash App offers services that may include peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, investing, debit-card access and bitcoin-related functionality, subject to availability and applicable regulations.

Block also owns Afterpay, a buy now, pay later platform, and has operated additional businesses involving music streaming and bitcoin infrastructure.