Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $60.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Etsy from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Etsy from $64.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Etsy from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Etsy from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Etsy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.08.

Etsy Price Performance

ETSY opened at $51.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 2.00. Etsy has a 1-year low of $47.10 and a 1-year high of $78.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.81.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $852.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $861.37 million. Etsy had a negative return on equity of 46.79% and a net margin of 9.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Etsy will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Etsy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 17.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 22,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,437.32. This trade represents a 6.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Etsy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Etsy by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Etsy by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Etsy by 106.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Etsy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 20,260 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denver PWM LLC raised its holdings in Etsy by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. 99.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Etsy Company Profile

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.