Block’s (XYZ) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Block (NYSE:XYZ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $90.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.34% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on XYZ. Oppenheimer raised shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Thursday. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.40.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE XYZ opened at $83.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.67, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). Block had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 5.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Block will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,044 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.72, for a total transaction of $177,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 83,966 shares in the company, valued at $7,281,531.52. The trade was a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $129,953.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,955,057.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,247 shares of company stock valued at $832,865 in the last 90 days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in Block by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position 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 in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Block by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Block by 64.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in Block by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Company Profile

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.