Block Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:XYZ)

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 74,566 call options on the company. This is an increase of 33% compared to the average volume of 56,085 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XYZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $94.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Compass Point raised shares of Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $79.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.42.

Block Price Performance

Shares of XYZ opened at $61.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 2.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.94. Block has a twelve month low of $44.27 and a twelve month high of $99.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total transaction of $639,603.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 243,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,953,356. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total value of $611,482.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 272,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,760,051. This represents a 3.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 99,198 shares of company stock worth $6,968,155. 10.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Block during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.