Short Interest in Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) Increases By 9.8%

Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,420,000 shares, an increase of 9.8% from the October 31st total of 17,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days. Approximately 17.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Etsy news, CAO Merilee Buckley sold 1,676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.11, for a total transaction of $85,660.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.40, for a total value of $41,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,798.20. The trade was a 3.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,819 shares of company stock worth $303,438. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Etsy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Etsy by 15.0% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,046 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Etsy by 353.2% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,574 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 10,579 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Etsy by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 24,146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,659,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Etsy in the first quarter worth approximately $931,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in Etsy during the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush decreased their price target on Etsy from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Etsy from $65.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Etsy from $64.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Etsy in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Etsy in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.71.

Etsy Stock Up 1.1 %

ETSY traded up $0.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $55.46. 2,894,696 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,741,849. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.04 and its 200 day moving average is $56.30. Etsy has a 12 month low of $47.10 and a 12 month high of $89.58.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.09). Etsy had a negative return on equity of 46.79% and a net margin of 9.17%. The firm 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 company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Etsy will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Etsy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 17.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.