Block, Inc. ( SQ ) shares are trading higher Wednesday after the company announced new merchant partnerships for Afterpay and its Bitkey hardware device has begun shipping to customers.

The Details:

Block said the first shipments of its self-custody Bitcoin wallet hardware device began this week, joining its currently available mobile app. The company described its Bitkey wallet as having three parts: a mobile app, a hardware device and a set of recovery tools. 

Bitkey has integrations with Cash App and Coinbase Global, Inc. ( COIN ) to allow customers to transfer and buy Bitcoin from the Bitkey wallet.

Afterpay announced a slate of new merchant partnerships, including Diane von Furstenberg, Diggs, For Eyes, HanesBrands, Kendra Scott, Made In Cookware, Molekule, Myka, Namawell, Oak & Luna, Poly & Bark, Shop Premium Outlets, Tornado Bus Company, and others. 

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SQ Stock Prediction 2024:

Equity research analysts on and off Wall Street typically use earnings growth and fundamental research as a form of valuation and forecasting. But many in trading turn to technical analysis as a way to form predictive models for share price trajectory.

Some investors look to trends to help forecast where they believe a stock could trade at a certain point in the future. Looking at Block, an investor could make an assessment about a stock's long term prospects using a moving average and trend line. If they believe a stock will remain above the moving average, which many believe is a bullish signal, they can extrapolate that trend into the future using a trend line. For Block, the 200-day moving average sits at $62.55, according to Benzinga Pro, which is below the current price of $86.39. For more on charts and trend lines, see a description here.

Traders believe that when a stock is above its moving average, it is a generally bullish signal, and when it crosses below, it is a more negative signal. Investors could use trend lines to make an educated guess about where a stock could trade at a later date if conditions remain stable.

SQ Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Block shares are up 6.29% at $86.85 at the time of publication.

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