Etsy (NYSE:ETSY) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Etsy (NYSE:ETSY) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Etsy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Etsy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Etsy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Etsy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Etsy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.80.

Etsy Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of Etsy stock opened at $52.74 on Friday. Etsy has a twelve month low of $40.05 and a twelve month high of $76.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $54.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.74.

Etsy (NYSE:ETSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Etsy had a negative return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 5.65%.The company had revenue of $881.64 million for the quarter.

Etsy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Etsy news, Director Charles Andrew Ballard sold 1,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.74, for a total transaction of $99,774.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,006 shares in the company, valued at $223,294.44. The trade was a 30.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Josh Silverman sold 21,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total value of $1,153,931.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 90,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,828,604.86. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 116,058 shares of company stock valued at $6,576,362 in the last ninety days. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Etsy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Etsy by 19.1% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Etsy by 55.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Etsy in the 1st quarter worth about $2,181,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Etsy by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Etsy by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.53% of the company’s stock.

Etsy Company Profile

Etsy, Inc operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, France, and India. 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. In addition, it offers various seller services, including Etsy Payments, a payment processing service; Etsy Ads, an advertising platform; and Shipping Labels, which allows sellers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India to purchase discounted shipping labels.