Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Block (NYSE:XYZ)

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 112,034 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 71% compared to the average volume of 65,542 call options.

Block Stock Up 8.6%

Shares of XYZ traded up $6.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $79.07. 24,678,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,070,267. Block has a twelve month low of $44.27 and a twelve month high of $99.26. The firm has a market cap of $48.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 2.74. The business's 50-day moving average is $63.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 2.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $412,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 133,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,366,700. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dhananjay Prasanna sold 11,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.41, for a total transaction of $695,038.38. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 318,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,574,498.91. The trade was a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,287 shares of company stock worth $4,624,074. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark lowered shares of Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Block from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler upgraded Block to an "underweight" rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. KGI Securities upgraded Block to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Block from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.21.

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.

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