Square closes near all-time high after analyst compares stock to early days of Amazon

KEY POINTS

• A report by Nomura Instinet predicted a long runway for Square in cryptocurrency, citing a survey of U.S.-based Square merchants in which 60 percent said they would accept bitcoin as payment.
• Square has seen several up days in recent weeks, some with no clear catalyst.
• The last eight days of trading have seen the stock close at its highest levels since November.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter

Lucas Jackson | Reuters

Shares of Square hit a new all-time intraday high Wednesday, jumping more than 5 percent after an analyst report compared the stock to 'Amazon in its early days.'

Shares closed at $54.60 Wednesday at a market cap above $21.5 billion, after hitting a high of $54.84 in intraday trading.

The report by Nomura Instinet predicted a long runway for Square in cryptocurrency, citing a survey of U.S.-based Square merchants in which 60 percent said they would accept bitcoin as payment.

Square has seen several up days in recent weeks, some with no clear catalyst. The last eight days of trading have seen the stock close at its highest levels since November.

After Wednesday's surge, Square is up more than 225 percent in the last 12 months.