Block (NYSE:XYZ) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $52.25 and last traded at $52.68, with a volume of 993095 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Oppenheimer upgraded Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Block from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.11.

Block Stock Up 2.0 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market cap of $34.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.78.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.11). Block had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $129,953.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,955,057.48. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.72, for a total transaction of $177,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 83,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,281,531.52. The trade was a 2.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,967 shares of company stock valued at $1,649,113. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,315,000. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,779,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Block by 6.2% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 253,787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,037,000 after purchasing an additional 14,822 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Block by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 8,065 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TB Alternative Assets Ltd. acquired a new position in Block during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,530,000. 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.