Latest news with #XYZ
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Block (XYZ) Receives a Buy from Barclays
In a report released on June 6, Ramsey El Assal from Barclays maintained a Buy rating on Block (XYZ – Research Report), with a price target of $75.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $64.99. Confident Investing Starts Here: El Assal covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as Cognizant, Corpay Inc, and WEX. According to TipRanks, El Assal has an average return of -1.3% and a 52.20% success rate on recommended stocks. Currently, the analyst consensus on Block is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $65.69, implying a 1.08% upside from current levels. In a report released on June 4, UBS also reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $70.00 price target. XYZ market cap is currently $39.97B and has a P/E ratio of 15.81. Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 110 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of XYZ in relation to earlier this year. Last month, Owen Britton Jennings, the Business Lead of XYZ sold 10,472.00 shares for a total of $590,516.08.
CNBC
03-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Evercore ISI says this beat-down fintech stock can stage a recovery rally
Evercore ISI turned bullish on Block , citing enough positive indicators on business fundamentals despite a rough patch for shares. Analyst Adam Frisch upgraded shares of the financial technology platform to outperform from in line and hiked his price target by $17 to $75. Frisch now expects shares can jump 21.4% over Monday's close. One driver of the upgrade is that the Cash App platform won't be as aggressive on lending as originally expected following first-quarter earnings. Frisch initially believed that lending could be used to offset lower numbers, but conversations with contacts soothed those concerns. He noted that the company doesn't absorb all of the losses as they are diversified within a broader group of investors. "When we heard mgmt talk about their plans to increase lending to new consumers in new states and with higher limits on the 1Q25 earnings call, we admittedly got very worried that the strategy to get more aggressive on lending to offset lower spending levels would lead to significant losses in 2H25 and potentially beyond," Frisch wrote to clients in a Tuesday note. "However, we were left more positive after speaking to management about XYZ's various funding sources across its lending portfolio." Frisch also said the lower-end consumer is showing steady spending trends despite macroeconomic uncertainty. Additionally, he said new product releases can aid growth going forward and noted that valuation is still attractive despite the stock's recent pop. With this call, Frisch is in the majority of Wall Street analysts with buy-equivalent ratings, according to LSEG. His price target also went from below to above average, per the market data provider. XYZ YTD mountain Block in 2025 Block shares added more than 3% in Tuesday's premarket. Despite a bounce of more than 5% last week, the stock has still plunged more than 27% in 2025.
Mint
02-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Small businesses bleed cash as GST kicks in before payments
Every month, Deepali Bhagat is taxed on income that hasn't reached her. The founder of a small ed-tech firm in Bengaluru, Bhagat must pay goods and services tax (GST) on every invoice she raises—even when clients delay payments for months. The burden eats into her working capital, sometimes pushing her to borrow or dip into savings just to stay compliant. By year-end, nearly 3% of her revenue is lost to GST on unpaid dues. Bhagat's not alone. This is a growing pain point for countless small businesses across India. This cash flow crunch stems from how GST is structured—on an accrual basis. That means businesses must pay GST as soon as an invoice is raised, not when the money actually comes in. Under GST rules, businesses must pay tax on either the invoice date or the payment date, whichever comes first. But in practice, payments typically come 40 to 90 days after billing. For firms with limited expenses to offset For firms with limited expenses to offset input tax, this means paying GST out of pocket well before receiving actual payment, directly denting working capital. 'My payments are usually delayed by 60 days or more after raising an invoice. Since my major expenses are employee-related, I don't have much input GST to claim, so I end up paying GST well before I receive the actual payment," said Bhagat, founder of D-Bright Minds. This is hurting businesses in more than just affecting their cash flow management. Also read: Chartering the troubled waters of accommodation services under GST Pay now, get paid later Under the GST framework, businesses must pay tax on monthly sales within fixed deadlines, even if their clients haven't paid them yet. Take, for instance, a services firm, XYZ, that makes sales worth ₹5 lakh in May. It issues invoices totalling ₹5.9 lakh, including 18% GST ( ₹90,000). Step 1: By 11 June, XYZ must report its total sales (based on invoices issued) through GSTR-1. Step 2: By 20 June, it must pay ₹90,000 in GST—whether or not the money has been received—after adjusting for any input tax credit (ITC), i.e., the tax paid on its own purchases. It also needs to file GSTR-3B, a self-declared summary return, showing the GST due after deducting ITC. But here's the catch: XYZ's clients can take upto six months to pay. Meanwhile, XYZ has already paid GST on income that hasn't hit its bank account. If the buyer defaults altogether, XYZ is still liable for the GST already paid. Worse, there's no foolproof way to recover that tax from the government. 'The GST Act (CGST Act, SGST Act and IGST Act collectively referred to as GST Act) does not provide any mechanism for recovery of the dues by the seller," said Utkarsh Desai, a chartered accountant (CA). 'Once the tax invoice is issued, the supplier has to discharge the tax liability shown in the invoice, either by utilising input tax credit or making payment in cash, irrespective of whether he receives the payment from the customer or not." The credit note dilemma When clients don't pay, the only recourse available to sellers under GST is to issue a credit note for the unpaid amount. This allows them to reverse the GST paid on that portion of the invoice. 'The month in which the seller issues the credit note, he can reduce the GST applicable on that credit amount from his total GST liability of that month. This is how a credit note helps in reversing the GST to that extent," said CA Vijaykumar Puri, partner at VPRP & Co LLP. But using a credit note isn't as simple as it sounds. For starters, credit notes must include a valid reason for the reversal, and can only be used under certain conditions allowed by law. 'Credit notes can be issued in specific situations such as deficiency in quality, price charged is higher than the actual rate, quantity difference, etc," said Desai. So, it can only be issued under strict conditions outlined by the GST laws and the seller and the buyer can't use it as a workaround for non-payments. There's another complication: The buyer has to reverse the ITC they claimed on the unpaid invoice. 'In cases where a credit note reduces the taxable value or tax, and the buyer had earlier availed full ITC, he is required to reverse the proportionate ITC. So, the seller's GST liability decreases, but the buyer's ITC too gets reduced accordingly in that month," said Puri. The seller has to ensure whether the buyer has reversed the ITC or not. Earlier it was difficult for buyers to ascertain this, but with the recent launch of Invoice Management System (IMS), this challenge has been resolved. 'The buyer's ITC is automatically reduced in the auto-generated ITC statement (GSTR-2B) based on the GST amount mentioned in credit notes issued by the seller," said Ashish Karundia, founder, Ashish Karundia & Co. Chartered Accountants. "If the buyer believes that a credit note has been issued incorrectly, they have the option to reject it. If the buyer takes no action, the credit note is considered to be accepted by default. The seller can check whether the credit note has been accepted, rejected, or deemed accepted by the buyer through the IMS - Outward Supplies dashboard under the returns tab after logging into the GST portal," he added. Also read: Indian gig workers who offer mobility services deserve GST relief Third, issuing a credit note means the invoice is cancelled, so the seller loses the option to pursue recovery of bad debt legally. Desai said a credit note for bad debt is a double edged sword in that sense. 'Once the credit note is issued, it means that there is no supply to the extent of the credit note and hence the seller cannot even take legal action." Bhagat of D-Bright Minds said she has refrained from using the credit note route to recover GST on unpaid dues for this very reason. If a credit note is not issued and payment is not made within 180 days of invoice generation, the buyer has to mandatorily reverse ITC, under Rule 37 of CGST Rules. 'However, the seller doesn't get a GST refund on this written off debt. The government has essentially earned GST as well as reversed ITC on bad debt," said Puri. Limited solutions offer little relief To address delayed payments, small businesses can opt for an MSME Udyam certificate, which legally requires buyers to clear dues within 45 days. But in practice, this mandate often backfires. Large corporations tend to avoid working with MSME-registered vendors due to this strict timeline, said CA Vijaykumar Puri, partner at VPRP & Co LLP. 'There have also been cases where big companies take in writing from small businesses that the latter has delivered defective goods, so the former is not liable to pay within 45 days. Big corporations have found workarounds around Udyam certificates, so it has not been effective in facilitating faster payments for small businesses," he said. The government's other major step—the Quarterly Returns and Monthly Payment (QRMP) scheme introduced in 2021—also falls short for many. The scheme allows small businesses to file GST returns every quarter instead of every month, reducing compliance frequency in theory. 'While quarterly filing is technically allowed, most of my big clients follow monthly billing cycles, so we too have to file monthly returns," said Vishal Jasani, who runs an advertising business. 'The buyer gets to claim ITC quarterly if we file returns quarterly, so they insist on monthly filing. This increases both our compliance load and administrative costs." Businesses under QRMP can file Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) to report sales on a monthly basis. 'Under QRMP, the seller doesn't have to file GSTR-3B monthly, only quarterly. However, the seller is still required to deposit GST every month, as per prescribed computation mechanisms. Further, discrepancies between monthly IFF data and the quarterly GSTR-3B can trigger scrutiny. This often defeats the simplified compliance objective of the scheme," said Puri. Call for reform from small biz Most major economies, like the EU states, UK and the US allow small businesses cash based accounting, which means they are liable to pay tax only after payment is received. Experts say the Indian government should consider introducing this. 'We need to move away from low trust to a high trust system, especially for small businesses. Businesses upto a certain turnover, should be allowed to pay GST on cash basis," said Puri. Karundia agreed and said similar provisions existed under the service tax regime. 'The option to pay GST on a receipt basis could be considered for certain categories of taxpayers, such as those with a turnover of ₹50–75 lakhs in the previous financial year, similar to the service tax regime." Alternatively, lawmakers might consider allowing taxpayers to choose between the cash and accrual method of accounting, as permitted under income tax laws, he added. Jasani said in a competitive market, they can't revise client terms or billing structures without risking valuable relationships. 'As a result, we have to absorb these GST related inefficiencies ourselves." 'Aligning GST liability with actual payment receipt would significantly ease operational pressures and enable small businesses like ours to focus on growth rather than cash flow firefighting." Also read: Mint Quick Edit | India's GST peak is reassuring
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mizuho Increases Block's (XYZ) Price Target, Keeps Outperform Rating
On Tuesday, May 27, Mizuho Securities increased the price target for Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ), previously known as Square, to $71 from $68 and kept an 'Outperform' rating. Mizuho made this decision after an analysis that shows a link between Bitcoin's price and user engagement on Block's (NYSE:XYZ) Cash App. People using the Cash App paying for goods and services, highlighting the impact the of the company's payment tools. The analysis showed that the recent surge in the price of Bitcoin has led to an increase in weekly active users of Cash App. The firm noticed that in late April and early May, there was a notable uptick in activity. Previously, in February and March, user growth was slower. These findings are in agreement with statements from Block, Inc.'s (NYSE:XYZ) management, which highlighted a rebound in Cash App usage in April. If Bitcoin can continue climbing, Cash App could experience increased user engagement in the coming months. Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) is an American financial technology company that offers a wide range of products and services to consumers and merchants. While we acknowledge the potential of XYZ as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than XYZ and that has a 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 11 Stocks That Will Bounce Back According To Analysts and 11 Best Stocks Under $15 to Buy According to Hedge Funds. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BNP Paribas Exane Upgrades Block (XYZ) Stock to Outperform
On May 27, BNP Paribas Exane upped Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ)'s stock to 'Outperform' from 'Neutral' with a price objective of $72, as reported by The Fly. As per the analyst, Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ)'s guidance for a mid-teens growth acceleration in gross profit for Q4 2025 is achievable, with challenges including competitive pressures in bitcoin and the cash business starting to fade. Furthermore, the acceleration expected in H2 2025 is projected to align with regular business operations. The introduction of the Borrow product and the Proto launch have been tagged as potential growth catalysts. The company expects Block topline growth to accelerate from a low point in H1 2025 to the mid-teens in Q4 2025. Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) believes that improvements in Cash App gross profit are expected to be the primary driver of the overall acceleration in Block topline. However, there are expectations to see faster growth in Square and the first gross profit contributions from Proto, as the company delivers its first chips and systems in H2 2025. Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) expects the enhancements to Cash App Borrow to fuel gross profit growth with the help of increased originations and improved unit economics. While we acknowledge the potential of XYZ to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than XYZ and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 13 Cheap AI Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 11 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Invest in Now Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
