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

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 124,884 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 105% compared to the average volume of 60,808 call options.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 580,086 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 90,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,885,112. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,714 shares of company stock valued at $1,606,992. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in Block by 85.3% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Trading Up 11.9 %

SQ stock opened at $83.41 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a 52-week low of $50.86 and a 52-week high of $87.52. The firm has a market cap of $51.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.10, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Block in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. William Blair upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.37.

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.