Block (NYSE:XYZ) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Citigroup

Block (NYSE:XYZ) was upgraded by research analysts at Citigroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on XYZ. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Block from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Block in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Block from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Block from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Block from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.64.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE XYZ opened at $81.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $48.49 billion, a PE ratio of 63.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.54. Block has a 12 month low of $48.21 and a 12 month high of $84.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.53.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $6.06 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 7.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Block has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.860-0.860 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.850-3.850 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Block will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, Director Anthony Mathew Eisen sold 135,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.81, for a total transaction of $10,426,957.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,032,990 shares in the company, valued at $156,153,961.90. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 30,919 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $2,318,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 500,816 shares in the company, valued at $37,561,200. This trade represents a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 a total of 357,219 shares of company stock worth $27,286,681 in the last quarter. 11.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 301.0% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 389 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Block by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 610 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Company Profile

Block (NYSE:XYZ) is a financial technology company that builds products and services to facilitate electronic payments, commerce, and consumer finance. Its principal business lines include a seller-focused ecosystem that provides point-of-sale hardware and software, payment processing, invoicing, payroll and lending services, and a consumer-facing platform that offers peer-to-peer payments, banking-like features, and investing. Block’s portfolio also encompasses music streaming and buy-now-pay-later capabilities through businesses acquired to broaden its reach beyond core payments.

The company was founded as Square in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and later rebranded to Block to reflect a diversified set of businesses across payments, consumer finance, and emerging technologies.