Will Block see daylight again?

Following its assault on Adani Group, activist short-seller Hindenburg Research is now targeting $Block(SQ)$ , alleging that the payment company has key lapses in its compliance processes, inflated its transacting user base that is its key performance metric, and understated its customer acquisition costs. Although Block has denounced the allegations as factually inaccurate and warned of legal actions against the short-seller, its stock price plunged close to 15% overnight as shareholders rushed for the exit in a flight to safety by selling first and asking questions later.

These accusations couldn't come at a worse time amidst macro headwinds and slowing economy, after Block has seen its stock price more than halved over the past year, as the payment company, once a market darling during the onset of the pandemic when hordes of merchants and populations rushed for cashless payments, now struggles to retain its relevance post-pandemic.

Adani Group has not recovered from the short attack, and it will be interesting to watch if Block will be able to refute the allegations and regain prominence. Cathie Wood had just as recently as Wednesday loaded up more of Block shares. Together with $Coinbase Global, Inc.(COIN)$  which had sank over 14% overnight too in sympathy after being threatened with regulatory actions against some of its cryptocurrency products, both of which are her long-time favorite bets and which rank among the top holdings in her flagship fund $ARK Innovation ETF(ARKK)$ , they dragged down ARKK stock price last night in an otherwise green trading session which saw NASDAQ climbing over 1%.

With slowing demand and increasing competition, I doubt Block is going to regain its past glory, so I'm going to keep my tiny little stake acquired in its heyday in a safe and hope that it will see daylight one day :)

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