Etsy (NYSE:ETSY) Stock Price Down 6.1% – Here’s What Happened

Etsy Inc (NYSE:ETSY) shares traded down 6.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $48.78 and last traded at $49.2730. 681,425 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 3,660,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ETSY. Barclays upgraded shares of Etsy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Etsy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Etsy from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research raised Etsy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Etsy from $63.00 to $54.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Etsy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.80.

Etsy Trading Down 7.8%

The stock has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.05, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.52.

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

Etsy declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Merilee Buckley sold 5,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.45, for a total value of $329,424.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Andrew Ballard sold 1,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.74, for a total value of $99,774.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $223,294.44. This represents a 30.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 116,058 shares of company stock valued at $6,576,362. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Etsy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Etsy by 697.4% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,343,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,045,000 after buying an additional 4,673,615 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Etsy in the 3rd quarter worth $257,614,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Etsy by 62.3% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,692,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416,772 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Etsy in the second quarter valued at about $65,207,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Etsy by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,111,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,785,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177,301 shares during the period. 99.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Etsy

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.