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

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 124,884 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 105% compared to the typical daily volume of 60,808 call options.

Block Stock Performance

SQ stock opened at $83.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $51.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.48. Block has a 1 year low of $50.86 and a 1 year high of $87.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $68.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total value of $539,404.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 580,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,572,170.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 580,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,572,170.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $90,968.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at $5,885,112. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,714 shares of company stock valued at $1,606,992. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter valued at $2,871,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Block by 3.0% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,440 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter valued at $74,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Block during the third quarter valued at about $1,509,000. Finally, SouthState Corp raised its holdings in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.37.

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.