Block price target lowered to $80 from $90 at Jefferies

Jefferies analyst Trevor Williams lowered the firm’s price target on Block (SQ) to $80 from $90 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Seller’s GPV growth deceleration has sparked concerns that Block is facing heightened competitive pressure, notes the firm, which adds that Block’s key end-markets slowed meaningfully throughout 2022 and that card-present is still growing at over twice the market rate, which it sees suggesting a "healthy competitive position at POS." Toast (TOST) is negatively impacting Block’s pace of share gains in the food/drink vertical, added the firm following its deeper dive in Block’s Seller segment growth.