Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY)

Key Points

• On Monday, Etsy saw a significant spike in put options trading, with a total of 40,576 contracts bought, marking a 39% increase over the average daily volume.
• The company's shares fell by 7.3% during trading, bringing its price to approximately $58.10, which is within its one year trading range between $40.05 and $70.57.
• Etsy recently reported an EPS of $0.25 for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $0.54, despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.8%.

Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 40,576 put options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately39% compared to the typical volume of 29,241 put options.

Etsy Stock Performance

ETSY stock traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.85. 2,158,597 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,864,828. Etsy has a 52 week low of $40.05 and a 52 week high of $70.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 43.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.73.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Goyal Kruti Patel sold 11,944 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 47,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,818,944.99. The trade was a 20.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Andrew Ballard sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.42, for a total transaction of $149,808.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $361,786.32. This trade represents a 29.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 381,482 shares of company stock valued at $23,033,829. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Etsy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETSY. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Etsy during the 4th quarter valued at $11,506,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Etsy by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,118,697 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $59,172,000 after buying an additional 33,736 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Etsy by 941.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,229 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 8,343 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its position in shares of Etsy by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 53,597 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,835,000 after buying an additional 7,338 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Etsy by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 71,437 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,779,000 after acquiring an additional 8,804 shares in the last quarter. 99.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ETSY. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Etsy from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $76.00 target price on shares of Etsy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Etsy from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Etsy from $41.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Etsy in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Etsy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $57.80.

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.