Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Grows Holdings in Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) by 193.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,424 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,565 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Etsy were worth $2,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETSY. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Etsy by 106.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Etsy by 112.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 552 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Etsy in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Etsy by 153.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 825 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Etsy during the third quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.53% of the company’s stock.

Etsy Stock Performance

Shares of ETSY stock opened at $55.46 on Friday. Etsy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.10 and a fifty-two week high of $80.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 2.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.33.

Etsy declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 17.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Etsy

In related news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.34, for a total transaction of $83,010.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ETSY. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Etsy from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Etsy from $65.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Etsy from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush dropped their target price on Etsy from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on Etsy from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.42.

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.