Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 92,851 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 33% compared to the typical daily volume of 69,776 call options.
NYSE SQ opened at $90.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.01, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.48. Block has a 52 week low of $55.00 and a 52 week high of $94.12. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $74.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.
In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,605,124.74. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock worth $2,393,972 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Block by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company's stock worth $110,891,000 after acquiring an additional 8,200 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Block by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $72,709,000 after purchasing an additional 128,832 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Block by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $686,948,000 after purchasing an additional 147,873 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 934,588 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Block by 2.7% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 541,204 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,969,000 after buying an additional 14,163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SQ shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. New Street Research started coverage on Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.46.
View Our Latest Stock Report on 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.
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