Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $50.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $38.00.

ETSY has been the topic of several other reports. Arete Research upgraded shares of Etsy to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 target price on shares of Etsy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Etsy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Etsy from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Etsy from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Etsy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.13.

Etsy Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ ETSY opened at $60.41 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.88. Etsy has a 12 month low of $40.05 and a 12 month high of $66.18. The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.15, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.74.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $651.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $642.22 million. Etsy had a negative return on equity of 39.60% and a net margin of 6.69%. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Etsy will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Etsy news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.36, for a total value of $77,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 34,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,781,318.88. This trade represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Richard Edward Colburn III sold 2,350 shares of Etsy stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.01, for a total value of $110,473.50. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,896 shares in the company, valued at $136,140.96. This trade represents a 44.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 202,298 shares of company stock valued at $11,156,039. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Etsy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Etsy by 1,066.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,622 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 8,797 shares during the period. Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new stake in Etsy during the fourth quarter worth about $5,229,000. JBGlobal.com LLC increased its position in Etsy by 68.2% during the 1st quarter. JBGlobal.com LLC now owns 12,837 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,206 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Etsy during the 4th quarter worth $606,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Etsy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $751,000. 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.