Raymond James Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Price

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Raymond James from $115.00 to $103.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the technology company's stock. Raymond James' price objective points to a potential upside of 50.72% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on XYZ. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie upped their target price on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer upgraded Block from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.23.

Block Stock Down 17.7 %

XYZ stock traded down $14.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.34. The company had a trading volume of 36,776,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,326,729. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.52. Block has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. Block had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 11.92%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Block will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 242,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,955,057.48. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,247 shares of company stock valued at $832,865 over the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Block by 770.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $116,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares during the period. Woodson Capital Management LP bought a new position in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,255,000. Azora Capital LP grew its stake in Block by 358.4% in the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 503,402 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,793,000 after purchasing an additional 393,593 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC bought a new position in Block in the 4th quarter valued at $32,445,000. 70.44% of the stock is 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.