UBS Group Cuts Block (NYSE:XYZ) Price Target to $97.00

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at UBS Group from $98.00 to $97.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 42.37% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Block in a report on Saturday, February 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BNP Paribas lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Macquarie increased their price target on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.90.

Block Stock Performance

Block stock traded down $14.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.13. 26,434,065 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,498,903. Block has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $99.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Block will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

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

Institutional Trading of Block

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Block by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Block by 1.9% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,744 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Block by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,864 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings 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.