Block (NYSE:XYZ) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $83.04, but opened at $74.97. Block shares last traded at $70.65, with a volume of 9,871,836 shares.

The technology company reported $0.26 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%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.23 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on XYZ shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer upgraded Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total value of $253,481.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,469,231.62. The trade was a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $272,175.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,325. The trade was a 3.25 % 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 ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in Block by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 9,154 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 5,929 shares in the last quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,775,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its holdings in shares of Block by 18,150.0% in the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 7,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 7,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nepsis Inc. purchased a new stake in Block during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,769,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Trading Down 15.4 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $43.52 billion, a PE ratio of 39.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52.

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.