Block (NYSE:XYZ) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $83.04, but opened at $74.97. Block shares last traded at $70.65, with a volume of 9,871,836 shares trading hands.

The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. Block had a return on equity of 5.24% and a net margin of 4.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on XYZ shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.40.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total transaction of $253,481.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,469,231.62. This trade represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,097,325. The trade was a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,247 shares of company stock valued at $832,865. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of XYZ. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Block by 10.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 73,399 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,927,000 after acquiring an additional 6,990 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Block by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,798 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,322 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $58,850,000. Finally, Yoder Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Block by 0.4% during the third quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,688 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Down 15.4 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $43.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52.

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.