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

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 122,485 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 61% compared to the average daily volume of 75,943 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider now owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $123,232.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,914 shares in the company, valued at $37,605,124.74. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,918 shares of company stock worth $2,666,147 in the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SQ. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Block by 18.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,174 shares of the technology company's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Block by 38.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,893 shares of the technology company's stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 7.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 52,412 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,639 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Block by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,833 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,063,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Block by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Trading Down 4.2 %

NYSE SQ traded down $4.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $94.06. The stock had a trading volume of 9,760,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,272,364. Block has a one year low of $55.00 and a one year high of $99.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Block from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Block from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.21.

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.