Most ASX 200 shares have enjoyed a bumper month since the start of November, just over a month ago. That's fair enough, given the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has swelled by a rosy 4.4%. But one ASX 200 tech stock puts that gain to shame.
That ASX 200 tech stock is none other than Block Inc (ASX: SQ2). Yep, this time last month, Block shares were asking $110.38 each. But today, those same shares are trading at $153.16 at the time of writing, up a whopping 6% today alone.
This gain puts Block's one-month performance at an eye-watering 38.7%. It also means that Block is currently sitting on a 2024 to-date gain of 34.5% and a 55.3% rise over the past 12 months. The company is also up a whopping 76% or so from its August 52-week low of $86.75.
Check that all out for yourself below:
So, how has this ASX 200 tech stock been able to pull off such a dramatic share price rise for investors?
How is this ASX 200 tech stock up 38% in one month?
Well, there are probably a couple of factors to unpack here.
Firstly, investors seemed mightily impressed with the earnings report that Block dropped back at the start of November. Albeit, that was after some initial jitters.
As we covered at the time, this quarterly report showed the company increasing its gross profit over the three months to 30 September by 19% compared to the year prior to US$2.25 billion. Earnings almost doubled, too, rising from US$477 million to US$807 million.
This quarterly report came out just after the November US presidential election, which also prompted a big surge in the stock market. So, both of these events could at least partially explain why this ASX 200 tech share has had such a lucrative month. But we also need to talk about Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).
Rather unusually for a company, Block is a major Bitcoin investor, holding approximately 8,363 bitcoins as of 30 September.
As cryptocurrency enthusiasts know, Bitcoin has also had a phenomenal month, rocketing a massive 44.25% since early November. Given that Block owns so many bitcoins and facilitates cryptocurrency transactions in the US, investors would have taken note of this rise and the windfall (at least on paper) Block has no doubt enjoyed as a result.
So it's probably a combination of these factors that has led to Block enjoying the phenomenal month that it has. Let's see what happens with this ASX 200 tech stock over the rest of the year.
