One company that likely won't be happy to exit this week is Block (SQ 0.59%). Its stock was on the rise across the past few trading days thanks to a set of fresh -- and bullish -- evaluations of the fintech by analysts tracking its fortunes.
As a consequence its share price had risen nearly 12% week to date as of Thursday night, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Post-earnings updates
Somewhat counterintuitively, that cluster of positive new evaluations for Block came on the heels of its disappointing third-quarter results, published the previous week. Revenue grew by 6% year over year, and non-GAAP (adjusted) net income soared 76% higher.
That's impressive on its face. However, revenue missed the consensus analyst estimate, and adjusted profitability only matched it -- so investors sold out of the stock.
Yet that didn't dissuade analysts tracking Block from publishng positive takes on the company. On Monday Piper Sandler's Arvind Ramnani initiated coverage of its shares with a confident overweight (read: buy) recommendation, at a price target of $83 per share. According to reports, Ramnani wrote that Block has proven adept at pushing into new markets, and two of its services -- Square Payments and Cash App -- have vast potential for growth.
Ramnani wasn't the only pundit jumping on the Block train. One of his peers, Bernstein SocGen's (OTC: SCGL.Y) Harshita Rawat, reiterated her outperform (buy) rating and $90 per share price target on the stock. Going one step further, Canaccord Genuity prognosticator Joseph Vafi cranked his price target $25 higher to $120 per share and maintained his buy recommendation.
NYSE: SQ
Key Data Points
The power of Bitcoin
Another factor driving Block stock higher is a surge in the value of Bitcoin. The company not only offers Bitcoin services to its clients, it's also a major investor in the cryptocurrency. The presidential election voted in a ticket that has indicated it will support the crypto industry. Combined with other positive factors, such as a strong economy, this has really juiced the value of Bitcoin -- and, by extension, the attractiveness of Block.
