Etsy's (ETSY) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Guggenheim

Key Points

• Guggenheim has reissued a "Buy" rating for Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) with a target price of $70.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.09% from the stock's previous close.
• Despite a revenue increase of 3.8% year-over-year, Etsy reported disappointing earnings of $0.25 EPS, missing the consensus estimate, which significantly impacted investor sentiment.
• Insider trading highlighted that CEO Josh Silverman sold 140,000 shares for approximately $9.1 million, a notable decrease in his ownership stake.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by Guggenheim in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $70.00 price objective on the specialty retailer's stock. Guggenheim's price target points to a potential upside of 7.71% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on ETSY. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Etsy from $45.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Etsy from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays reiterated a "positive" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Etsy in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Etsy from $41.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Etsy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.80.

Etsy Stock Performance

Etsy stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $64.99. The company had a trading volume of 6,481,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,823,894. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.90. Etsy has a 1 year low of $40.05 and a 1 year high of $70.57. The firm has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 1.77.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $672.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $645.16 million. Etsy had a negative return on equity of 31.10% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Etsy will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Josh Silverman sold 140,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $9,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 62,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,073,810. This represents a 69.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Goyal Kruti Patel sold 11,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total transaction of $708,398.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 47,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,818,944.99. This represents a 20.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 386,482 shares of company stock worth $23,680,691. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Etsy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ETSY. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Etsy by 1,066.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,622 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 8,797 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Etsy by 31.3% in the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 18,962 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 4,523 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new position in Etsy during the first quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new position in Etsy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,229,000. Finally, JBGlobal.com LLC lifted its position in Etsy by 68.2% during the first quarter. JBGlobal.com LLC now owns 12,837 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 5,206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.53% of the company's stock.

About Etsy

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.