Block’s (NASDAQ:SQ) earnings report may not have been everything that investors would have liked, but Evercore ISI certainly approved. Its analyst, David Togut, offered up some welcome commentary, and Block shares jumped substantially in Friday afternoon’s trading as a result.
Togut noted that Block is clearly out to make itself a leaner, more financially disciplined firm. That’s thanks in large part to a changed pattern of investment at Block. Now—based on word from Block’s president and co-founder Jack Dorsey—Block investments focus on three key points. The first is to focus on drawing new customers in along with keeping the old. The second is to keep watch on overall costs. Finally, the third is to “utilize industry standard conventions that are simple to communicate and understand.” That, apparently, was enough to convince Evercore ISI that Block was worthwhile.
However, some analysts aren’t as convinced. Dan Dolev, with Mizuho Americas, noted that Block’s successes were already widely-known before the earnings report was even released. Worse, not only were these successes expected, they were too lackluster to mean much to Block’s overall value in the market. Block’s connection to Bitcoin (BTC-USD) isn’t likely to serve it well either going forward, Dolev noted.
Overall, analyst consensus calls Block a Moderate Buy based on 12 Buys and five Holds assigned in the past three months. Further, Block stock has 15.79% upside potential thanks to its average price target of $89.88 per share.
