Scalper1 News
In a blog post Wednesday, digital cash register and payments processor Square ( SQ ) announced that it would integrate Facebook ( FB ) ad buying into its small-business software. The new integration will enable merchants using Square software to buy and target Facebook ads, aiming to help the merchants understand the effectiveness of online ad campaigns on the social network. Square will earn a subscription fee. “There’s a lot of excitement around buying Facebook ads, but the critical missing link is: If I put down $5, how do I know if it worked?” Saumil Mehta, Square’s customer engagement lead, told the New York Times . “The ability to track and close the loop from advertisement to sale — that’s the holy grail.” The company offers a range of digital cash register hardware as well as software that performs marketing tasks. The company’s financial business offers small-business loans — it assesses risk based on the wealth of transaction data it accumulates — and other financial services such as payroll. It also does payments processing — a business that some analysts and investors have criticized for having tight profit margins. Square must share its transaction fees with credit card firms and other financial institutions. Square also has a peer-to-peer payments app called Square Cash that competes with PayPal ( PYPL ) and its offering, Venmo. CEO Jack Dorsey is also CEO of Twitter ( TWTR ), which is based about a block away from Square’s offices in San Francisco. Square stock was down 4%, near 12.50, in afternoon trading on the stock market today but rose earlier to a four-month high of 13.80. The company has an IBD Composite Rating of 46, where 99 is the highest, and its November IPO generally disappointed. Shares priced at 9, peaked at 14.05 the first day and have mostly lagged ever since. Wedbush analyst Gil Luria warns that the stock is volatile because it has a large number of short sellers betting on the stock to fall, as well as a small float. Company insiders, including early venture capital investors who can’t sell until May under the IPO’s lock-up provisions, hold a significant number of shares. Square beat Wall Street expectations for Q4 sales in the company’s first release since going public in November. Executives have said that the company will turn profitable this year. In 2015, the company’s losses widened to $179 million from $154 million in 2014. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News