Block (NYSE:XYZ) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 7,056,641 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 7,373,229 shares.The stock last traded at $63.91 and had previously closed at $62.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Block from $109.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Block from $115.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.31.

Block Trading Up 3.5 %

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 stock has a market cap of $40.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.53.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.23 billion. Block had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 5.80%. Equities analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $103,159.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 82,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,329.68. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,832 shares of company stock valued at $1,921,288 in the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter worth approximately $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Block by 770.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,719,000 after buying an additional 1,538,849 shares in the last quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Block during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,255,000. Azora Capital LP lifted 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 worth $33,793,000 after purchasing an additional 393,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,445,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.