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

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 130,133 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 58% compared to the typical volume of 82,335 call options.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at $7,103,280. The trade was a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,325. This trade represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,599 shares of company stock worth $2,120,494 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SQ. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Block by 0.4% during the third quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,688 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,744 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Block by 14.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SQ shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.94.

Block Trading Up 6.2 %

Shares of SQ stock traded up $5.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $92.16. 10,470,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,295,297. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $99.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.91.

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.