• Hindenburg Research has revealed a short position in financial technology company Block Inc.
• The report alleges many of the company’s accounts are involved in criminal activities, including sex trafficking.
• Block Inc says it is exploring legal action against the short seller and Wall Street analysts have an overweight rating on Block shares.
Hindenburg Reveals Short Position in Block Inc
Hindenburg Research has revealed a short position in financial technology company Block Inc, sending shares trading 15% down on Thursday. The research spanned over two years and alleges that many of the company’s accounts were involved in criminal activities, such as sex trafficking.
Block Plans to Take Legal Action Against Hindenburg
In response to Hindenburg’s report, Block Inc said that it intends to work with the SEC and explore legal action against the short seller for their “factually inaccurate and misleading” report about its Cash App business.
Wall Street Has Overweight Rating On Block Shares
Despite Hindenburg’s claims, Wall Street analysts appear to disagree with them as they have an average consensus overweight rating on „SQ“ coupled with an average price target of $98 – up 60% from here.
Top Executives Sold Company Shares During Rally
Hindenburg also took issue with the fact that top executives, including CEO Jack Dorsey have sold more than $1 billion worth of the company’s shares during the pandemic-driven rally.
Block Reports 16% Year-on-Year Increase In Monthly Active Users
In February, Block reported that its monthly active users went up 16% year-on-year to 51 million in December. Its shares are slightly in the red for the year following today’s price action at market close.