Block initiated with an Equal Weight at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Block with an Equal Weight rating and $45 price target. The firm struggles to find “sufficient evidence to call for consistent beats and raises” despite what it views as Block’s “impressive record of innovation,” the analyst tells investors. Consistently beating numbers is “the clearest path for upside to shares,” but investors are “justifiably skeptical” given limited historical evidence of operating leverage, heightened competitive dynamics for the Seller ecosystem, and the view that sustaining Cash App growth “requires an ongoing conveyor belt of investments,” the analyst added.