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

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ – Get Rating) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 131,756 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 10% compared to the average volume of 119,919 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,769 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total transaction of $1,841,216.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 422,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,289,281.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $1,841,216.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 422,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,289,281.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 3,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.86, for a total value of $224,845.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 144,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,476,428.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 318,306 shares of company stock valued at $20,369,863 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Red Door Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,000. Long Walk Management LP raised its position in shares of Block by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Long Walk Management LP now owns 153,500 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,646,000 after purchasing an additional 68,000 shares during the period. CAPROCK Group Inc. bought a new stake in Block in the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter worth about $282,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 9,267 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. 59.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $81.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.81, a PEG ratio of 57.27 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86. Block has a one year low of $51.34 and a one year high of $149.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.72.

Block (NYSE:SQ – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. Block had a negative return on equity of 2.10% and a negative net margin of 2.97%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Block will post -0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Block from $134.00 to $114.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on Block in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Block from $78.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Block from $175.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Block from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.08.

About Block

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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.