StoneX turns bullish on Block, sees upside from AI-driven restructuring

Block

10/09/2026 19:15

** StoneX upgrades rating on payments firm Block XYZ.N to "buy" from "hold" and sets a PT of $105, implying a 32% upside to the stock's last close
** "The upgrade reflects our view that the market has yet to price in the improvement in the co's operating results likely to result from its embrace of agentic AI" - StoneX
** The output resulting from that agentic AI platform has been impressive: Block's code changes per engineer are up 150% since the start of 2026, agentic AI wrote and reviewed nearly all of its production code changes in June, brokerage says
** XYZ said in February it will cut over 4,000 jobs as part of an overhaul to embed artificial intelligence across its operations
** 41 of 50 analysts rate stock "strong buy" or "buy" and nine "hold"; their median PT is $97 - data compiled by LSEG
** Including session's move, stock up 21.8% YTD 


 (Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru)
 ((Pragyan.Kalita@thomsonreuters.com;))