Key points
- Stocks held on to gains from last week’s earnings report and bullish forecasts.
- A host of analyst upgrades highlight this opportunity.
- Investors should expect stocks to complete their consolidation this week and start moving higher starting Monday.
- 5 stocks we like better than Block
After trading mostly sideways since January, Block, Inc. NYSE:SQ stocks are moving again. They performed strongly in the final two months of last year when, like almost all stocks, they took off on slowing inflation data and hopes of an imminent rate cut.
This latest pop, which sees them trading at the top of the autonomy of two years, follows a strong earnings report last week and bullish comments from analysts thereafter. Last Thursday, Block, a well-known fintech for SMBs and formerly known as Square, reported fourth-quarter results that beat analysts’ revenue expectations and set the tone for what is expected to be a solid year. Revenue grew 24% year-over-year, well ahead of consensus, which more than made up for the shortfall. net profit.
Bullish Guidance for Block Stocks
Also helping . A more optimistic than expected outlook on a key metric like this will almost offset any negative surprises regarding the previous quarter’s historical performance. Investors are simply looking to the future, and as inflation indeed continues to cool, there are enough tailwinds in place for Block to continue to rally throughout 2024.
That’s a likelihood cited by the team at Seaport Research, which raised its rating on Block shares following last week’s report. After previously rating Block as neutral, their team upgraded it to a bullish buy rating, saying they “see plenty of opportunities for additional operating leverage from here.” Seaport also raised its Block EBITDA guidance for 2024/25 and expects the company’s strong fundamentals to continue throughout 2026.
For those of us considering a position in Block, the analysts’ bullish stances are very reassuring. The Wells Fargo team also recently joined the bull camp, which with its $95 price target, are looking for a further rise of at least 16% from the stock’s close on Thursday. If Block shares go up there in the coming weeks, they will hit multi-year highs and, in fact, their highest level since before the 2022 low. They also would have gained more than 100% in value since the low of November and would be on track to return to the triple-digit prices where they spent much of 2020 and 2021.
Getting involved in Block Stock
The fact that stocks weakened somewhat after last week’s initial rebound won’t have hurt the bullish thesis in any way. They’ve already turned north once again, meaning they have a strong support line, and real momentum is starting to build with the earnings report which has now been fully digested . Investors should be comfortable starting to build a position here and be ready to add to it if Block breaks above the $82 line, as that is where the closest resistance is.
Considering that alongside Seaport and Wells Fargo, the teams at Piper Sandler, Canaccord and Citigroup have also taken bullish positions on Block’s prospects, with a very high $100 price target coming from Truist Financial, it appears that This could be the start of something big.
With shares continue to benefit the return of a strong sense of risk, while investors continue to flood Back in stocks, now is the time to select those expected to outperform the most. When you have a stock like Block, which says it’s going to do just that over the coming year but whose shares are only just getting ready to take off, you have to be ready to start pulling back.
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