Block price target lowered to $90 from $100 at Bernstein

Bernstein lowered the firm’s price target on Block (SQ) to $90 from $100 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares as part of a Q3 earnings preview for the payments space. Overall consumer spend decelerated slightly to 5%, with 0.5% of deceleration of volumes in Q3 likely driven by lower gas prices, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says 2024 is shaping up to be a “narrative changing year for many payment companies as underlying secular growth slow (especially in the US), and competition intensifies.”