Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Price Passes Below 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.78 and traded as low as $61.21. Block shares last traded at $61.38, with a volume of 7,356,756 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Block from $115.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Block in a report on Saturday, February 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.11.

Block Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $71.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.78.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). The business 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $129,953.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,955,057.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.72, for a total value of $177,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 83,966 shares in the company, valued at $7,281,531.52. This represents a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,967 shares of company stock worth $1,649,113. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 64.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Block by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Block by 14.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of Block by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

About Block

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.