Block Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SQ)

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 92,851 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 33% compared to the average volume of 69,776 call options.

Block Trading Down 0.3 %

SQ stock opened at $88.77 on Thursday. Block has a 52-week low of $55.00 and a 52-week high of $94.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $55.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.87, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 2.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $123,232.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,605,124.74. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. SouthState Corp raised its position in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 64.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Company Profile

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.