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

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 124,884 call options on the company. This is an increase of 105% compared to the typical daily volume of 60,808 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total value of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $430,966.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 264,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,125,895.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,714 shares of company stock valued at $1,606,992 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Block by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,511,250 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,088,122,000 after buying an additional 318,549 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Block by 4.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,096,614 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,107,712,000 after acquiring an additional 582,826 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Block by 1.5% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $686,948,000 after purchasing an additional 147,873 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in Block by 13.9% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Block by 2.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,202,388 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $147,846,000 after purchasing an additional 45,472 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of SQ stock opened at $87.20 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.00. Block has a 1-year low of $50.86 and a 1-year high of $87.52. The company has a market cap of $53.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair raised shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.30.

About Block

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.