Etsy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:ETSY)

Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 32,117 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 99% compared to the average daily volume of 16,123 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ETSY. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Etsy in a report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their target price on Etsy from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Etsy from $65.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Etsy from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Etsy from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.87.

Etsy Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ ETSY opened at $52.77 on Friday. Etsy has a 12 month low of $47.10 and a 12 month 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 5.39 and a beta of 1.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.15.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.09). Etsy had a negative return on equity of 47.52% and a net margin of 9.17%. The business had revenue of $662.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $652.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. Etsy’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Etsy will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Etsy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 17.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Merilee Buckley sold 1,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.11, for a total value of $85,660.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Etsy news, insider Toni Thompson Nadal sold 1,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $30,257.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Merilee Buckley sold 1,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.11, for a total value of $85,660.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,619 shares of company stock worth $240,825 in the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Etsy in the third quarter worth about $834,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Etsy by 16.8% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,540,465 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $105,861,000 after purchasing an additional 221,275 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Etsy by 11.5% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,459 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Etsy by 12.6% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 146,865 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,093,000 after purchasing an additional 16,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Etsy by 740.9% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 55,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,082,000 after purchasing an additional 48,900 shares during the last quarter. 99.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.