Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) Upgraded to "Hold" at Arete Research

Key Points

• Arete Research has upgraded Etsy's stock rating from "strong sell" to "hold."
• The average target price for Etsy's shares is currently $57.20, with a mix of ratings from analysts: 3 sell, 17 hold, and 8 buy ratings.
• Etsy reported $672.66 million in revenue for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, but missed EPS estimates by 29 cents with an EPS of $0.25.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Arete Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on ETSY. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Etsy from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Etsy from $41.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Etsy from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays restated a "positive" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of Etsy in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Etsy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.20.

Etsy Price Performance

Etsy stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $60.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,443,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,451,724. Etsy has a 1-year low of $40.05 and a 1-year high of $68.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $57.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.63. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.12, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.73.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.29). Etsy had a negative return on equity of 31.10% and a net margin of 5.78%. The business had revenue of $672.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Etsy's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Etsy will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Etsy

In other Etsy news, CEO Josh Silverman sold 21,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.76, for a total value of $1,273,094.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,682,724.24. This represents a 25.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Merilee Buckley sold 5,817 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.83, for a total transaction of $342,214.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,968 shares of company stock worth $22,076,609 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Etsy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Etsy by 15.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,494 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Etsy by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 104,375 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,217,000 after purchasing an additional 16,025 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Etsy by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 649,542 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $32,581,000 after purchasing an additional 12,855 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Etsy by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,886 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Etsy by 528.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,836 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.