Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Block Call Options (NYSE:SQ)

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 130,133 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 58% compared to the typical volume of 82,335 call options.

Block Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of SQ traded up $5.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.16. The stock had a trading volume of 10,470,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,295,297. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.91. The company has a market cap of $57.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.78, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. Block has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $99.26.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $272,175.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $609,015.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 246,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,580,192.81. This trade represents a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,599 shares of company stock worth $2,120,494 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Block by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,690,075 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $581,923,000 after buying an additional 133,002 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased 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 worth $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 45,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 17.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,143,000 after acquiring an additional 326,444 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Macquarie upped their target price on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.