Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $57.29, but opened at $54.00. Etsy shares last traded at $51.99, with a volume of 2,591,236 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ETSY. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Etsy from $105.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Etsy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Etsy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Etsy from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Etsy from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Etsy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.08.

Etsy Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $54.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.81. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 2.00.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. Etsy had a net margin of 10.80% and a negative return on equity of 46.62%. The company had revenue of $852.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $861.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Etsy, Inc. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Etsy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 17.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Etsy

In other news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.34, for a total transaction of $83,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,228,437.32. This represents a 6.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Etsy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in Etsy by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 264,689 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $14,698,000 after purchasing an additional 159,820 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Etsy by 183.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,961,952 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,067,000 after purchasing an additional 3,861,668 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Etsy by 313.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 542,505 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,125,000 after purchasing an additional 411,165 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Etsy by 258.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 118,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,576,000 after purchasing an additional 85,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Etsy by 740.9% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 55,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,082,000 after purchasing an additional 48,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.