** Payments firm Block's XYZ.N shares rise 2.3% to $61.18 premarket
** Truist Securities upgrades XYZ to "buy" from "hold"; raises PT to $77 from $72, implying a roughly 29% upside to stock's last close
** Brokerage sees upside potential to Street margin expectations following XYZ's ~40% reduction in workforce
** Says capital return could surprise to the upside as free cash flow generation improves
** XYZ said last month it will cut over 4,000 jobs as part of an overhaul to embed artificial intelligence across its operations
** "We are still keeping an eye on signs of intensifying competition among neobanks and SMB-focused acquirers, but we believe the current multiple takes both this and the heightened credit risk into account" - Truist analyst Matthew Coad
** As of last close, XYZ stock down 8% YTD
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)
((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))
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