Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Block Call Options (NYSE:SQ)

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 130,133 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 58% compared to the typical daily volume of 82,335 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at $7,103,280. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at $7,088,560. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,599 shares of company stock worth $2,120,494 in the last three months. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Block during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,129,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,493 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Block by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Block by 18.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Block by 38.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,893 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

SQ opened at $92.16 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $87.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. Block has a 1 year low of $55.00 and a 1 year high of $99.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a PE ratio of 51.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SQ. BNP Paribas cut Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. New Street Research started coverage on shares of Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.94.

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.