Olympiad Research LP Cuts Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Olympiad Research LP lowered its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,823 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,620 shares during the period. Olympiad Research LP’s holdings in Block were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Block in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Block in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Block in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Block in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Block in the second quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Down 3.2 %

Block stock opened at $75.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a PE ratio of 58.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.48. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.63 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total value of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,572,170.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total value of $388,920.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,742,652.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,214 shares of company stock worth $1,637,932 over the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, New Street Research began coverage on Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.96.

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.