Etsy (NYSE:ETSY) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Etsy (NYSE:ETSY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ETSY. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Etsy from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Etsy from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Etsy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Etsy from $63.00 to $54.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Etsy from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.80.

Etsy Stock Performance

Etsy stock opened at $52.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.74. Etsy has a fifty-two week low of $40.05 and a fifty-two week high of $76.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $54.52.

Etsy (NYSE:ETSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $881.64 million during the quarter. Etsy had a net margin of 5.65% and a negative return on equity of 24.94%.

Etsy declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Etsy news, CAO Merilee Buckley sold 5,636 shares of Etsy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.45, for a total transaction of $329,424.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Josh Silverman sold 86,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.46, for a total value of $4,979,828.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 90,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,209,381.06. This represents a 48.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 116,058 shares of company stock worth $6,576,362 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Etsy by 697.4% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,343,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,045,000 after purchasing an additional 4,673,615 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Etsy during the 3rd quarter worth about $257,614,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Etsy by 62.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,692,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,772 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Etsy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,207,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Etsy by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,111,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,785,000 after buying an additional 1,177,301 shares in the last quarter. 99.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Etsy Company Profile

Etsy, Inc operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, France, and India. Its primary marketplace is Etsy.com that connects artisans and entrepreneurs with various consumers. The company also offers Reverb, a musical instrument marketplace; Depop, a fashion resale marketplace; and Elo7, a Brazil-based marketplace for handmade and unique items. In addition, it offers various seller services, including Etsy Payments, a payment processing service; Etsy Ads, an advertising platform; and Shipping Labels, which allows sellers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India to purchase discounted shipping labels.