Etsy’s (ETSY) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $60.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Etsy in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Etsy from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Etsy from $64.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Etsy from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Etsy from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.87.

Etsy Price Performance

ETSY opened at $52.77 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.15. Etsy has a 1 year low of $47.10 and a 1 year high of $89.58. The stock has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 1.99.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.09). Etsy had a negative return on equity of 46.79% and a net margin of 9.17%. The firm had revenue of $662.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $652.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Etsy will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Etsy declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 17.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Etsy

In related news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.40, for a total transaction of $41,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,798.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.40, for a total value of $41,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,798.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Toni Thompson Nadal sold 1,443 shares of Etsy stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.11, for a total value of $73,751.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 592 shares in the company, valued at $30,257.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,619 shares of company stock valued at $240,825. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Etsy by 304.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,402,216 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $82,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,296 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Etsy by 21.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,215,370 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $248,623,000 after purchasing an additional 734,200 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Etsy by 14.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,764,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $339,964,000 after purchasing an additional 721,454 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Etsy by 52.3% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,100,284 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $123,875,000 after purchasing an additional 721,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Etsy by 76.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,196,932 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,685,000 after buying an additional 517,480 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.53% of the company’s stock.

Etsy Company Profile

Etsy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, and France. 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.