Block Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SQ)

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 92,851 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 33% compared to the typical volume of 69,776 call options.

Block Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE SQ traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.01. 7,783,219 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,245,616. Block has a 52 week low of $55.00 and a 52 week high of $94.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $74.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.20. The company has a market cap of $55.17 billion, a PE ratio of 50.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SQ. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $609,015.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 246,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,580,192.81. This trade represents a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,781 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $162,836.83. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 86,010 shares in the company, valued at $7,863,894.30. The trade was a 2.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SQ. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in Block by 45.7% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $650,396,000 after buying an additional 3,163,975 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Block during the third quarter valued at about $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Block by 770.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $116,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake in Block by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company's stock worth $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. grew its position in Block by 76.7% during the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company's stock worth $118,103,000 after purchasing an additional 795,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

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.