Short Interest in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Expands By 23.5%

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,990,000 shares, an increase of 23.5% from the October 31st total of 8,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Block Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of Block stock traded up $4.61 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $93.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,989,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,234,005. Block has a twelve month low of $55.00 and a twelve month high of $95.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.03 and a 200-day moving average of $68.70. The stock has a market cap of $57.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 246,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,580,192.81. This trade represents a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,605,124.74. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,053 shares of company stock worth $2,393,972 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in shares of Block by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. New Street Research assumed coverage on Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.21.

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.