Having traded mostly sideways since January, Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) shares are again on the move. They'd performed strongly all through the final two months of last year when, like with almost all equities, they took off on the back of cooling inflation data and hopes of an imminent rate cut.
This latest pop, which sees them trading at the top of a two-year range, comes on the back of a strong earnings report last week and bullish analyst comments in the aftermath. Last Thursday, Block, a well-known fintech for SMEs and previously known as Square, reported Q4 results that topped analyst expectations on the revenue front and set the tone for what should be a strong year. Revenue was up an impressive 24% year on year and well ahead of the consensus, which more than made up for the miss on their bottom-line earnings.
Bullish Guidance for Block Stock
It also helped that management's forward guidance for full-year EBITDA came in at $2.63 billion, well ahead of their previous guidance of $2.4 billion. A rosier-than-expected outlook on a key metric like this will outweigh almost any negative surprise regarding historic performance from a previous quarter. Investors are nothing if not forward-looking, and with inflation indeed continuing to cool, there are enough tailwinds in place for Block to continue rallying throughout 2024.
This was a likelihood called out by the Seaport Research team, who upgraded their rating on Block shares in the aftermath of last week's report. Having previously had Block rated as Neutral, their team upped it to a bullish Buy rating, saying that they "see ample opportunity for further operating leverage from here." Seaport also raised its 2024/25 forecasts for Block's EBITDA and sees the ongoing strength in the business' fundamentals continuing all the way through 2026.
For those of us weighing up a position in Block, there's a lot of comfort to be had from such bullish stances as these by analysts. Also joining the bull camp recently was the Wells Fargo team, who, with their $95 price target, are looking for further upside of at least 16% from where shares closed on Thursday. If Block shares make their way up there in the coming weeks, they'd be at multi-year highs and, indeed, at their highest level since before 2022's slide bottomed out. They'd also have gained more than 100% in value since November's low and would be well on their way to getting back to the triple-digit prices where they spent much of 2020 and 2021.
Getting Involved with Block Stock
The fact that shares softened somewhat after last week's initial pop will have done no harm at all to the bull thesis. They've already turned north once again, which means there's a solid line of support under them, and there's some real momentum starting to flow in with the earnings report now having been fully digested. Investors should be comfortable starting to build a position around here and be ready to add to it if Block breaks through the $82 line, as that is where the nearest resistance is.
Considering that alongside Seaport and Wells Fargo, bullish stances have also been taken on Block's prospects by the teams at Piper Sandler, Canaccord, and Citigroup, with a street-high price target of $100 coming from Truist Financial, it feels like this could be the start of something big.
With equities continuing to benefit from the return of strong risk-on sentiment, as investors continue to flood back into stocks, now's the time to select those that are set to outperform the most. When you have a stock like Block, which is saying it's going to do just that in the year ahead but whose shares are only just now getting ready for lift-off, you have to be ready to start backing up the truck.
