What happened
Two trading days after Block (SQ 0.51%) reported its second-quarter results, several analysts cut their price targets on the onetime fintech industry high-flyer. These were enough to discourage investors, who collectively pushed the company's share price down by 2.5%, eclipsing the slight decline of the S&P 500 index on the day.
So what
By my count, six prognosticators did the chopping thing to Block shares on the first trading day of the week.
Of that half-dozen, the one that currently has Block at the lowest level is Morgan Stanley's James Faucette. He sliced his from the previous $110 per share to $85, maintaining an equal-weight (read: neutral) recommendation while doing so.
Another white-shoe investment bank, Goldman Sachs, made a similar move, although it's got a more bullish take on Block. Goldman prognosticator Michael Ng now feels the stock is worth $134 per share, down from his preceding $152. However, he's keeping his buy recommendation intact.
Now what
Block stock held up fairly well, considering how many price target reductions the fintech was slammed with on the day.
Perhaps there are still plenty of investors who were impressed rather than discouraged by their company's most recent quarterly performance. After all, Block actually topped analyst estimates for the period, albeit not spectacularly, and recorded encouraging growth in several important metrics.
Additionally, the company's point-of-sale terminals are still commonplace in small businesses, many of which are recovering after the privations of the coronavirus pandemic. And Block continues to energetically build out its merchant services ecosystem, which makes its offerings that much more "sticky" and creates new revenue streams.
