What happened
Shares of financial technology company Square (SQ -1.57%) popped on Thursday, rising as much as 5.8%. As of 3:30 p.m. EST, however, the stock was up about 5%.
The growth stock's gain was likely fueled by a combination of optimism in the overall market, an analyst note about the stock, and appreciation in bitcoin's value.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev put out a note to investors on Thursday that rising bitcoin prices are a boon for the company, which profits from bitcoin transactions in its peer-to-peer payment app. Bitcoin has soared recently, topping $40,000 for the first time this week.
Also helping the stock is a bullish day for the overall market. As of this writing, the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 are up 2.6% and 1.6%, respectively.
Dolev has a buy rating and a $300 12-month price target for Square.
Now what
Investors, of course, should keep in mind that bitcoin represents a minority of Square's business. The company makes most of its revenue from gross payment volume within its payment products. In addition, Square offers other services to help sellers run their businesses.
