BofA Global Research upgraded SQ to "neutral" from "underperform"
The shares of Square Inc (NYSE:SQ) are down 1.3% to trade at $210.16 at last check, despite the digital payments name receiving an upgrade from BofA Global Research to "neutral" from "underperform," and a price-target hike to $221 from $210. Today's bull note comes after Jack Dorsey left his post as CEO of both Twitter (TWTR) and Square, as some seem to believe his departure may bring tailwinds to crypto-related stocks.
Square stock has had an extremely volatile year thus far, staging a dramatic pullback from its Aug. 5, all-time high of $289.23. The equity seems to be bouncing off the $205 level more recently, though overhead pressure remains at the $220 mark. Over the last month, SQ has shed 15.4%.
The brokerage bunch was already firmly bullish towards the security coming into today. Of the 29 in question, 20 carry a "buy" or better rating, while the other nine say "hold" or worse. What's more, the 12-month consensus target price of $295.08 is a notable 37.7% premium to current levels.
Short sellers have already started to hit the exits in droves, though SQ still looks ripe for a short squeeze. Short interest is off 32.5% in the most recent reporting period, yet the 27.31 million shares sold short make up 7% of the stock's available float, or nearly one week's worth of pent-up buying power.
A shift in the options pits could keep pushing Square stock forward. This is per SQ's 50-day put/call volume ratio of at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 89% of annual readings, indicating long puts have been getting picked up at a faster-than-usual clip.