Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) Price Target Cut to $44.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $45.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 13.76% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ETSY. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Etsy in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Etsy to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Etsy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Etsy from $64.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Etsy from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Etsy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.63.

Etsy Price Performance

Shares of ETSY traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $51.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,760,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,209,437. The company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 2.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.83. Etsy has a 1-year low of $47.10 and a 1-year high of $78.65.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. Etsy had a negative return on equity of 46.79% and a net margin of 9.17%. The business had revenue of $852.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $861.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Etsy will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Etsy declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 17.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 22,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,437.32. The trade was a 6.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Etsy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Etsy by 183.9% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,961,952 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,067,000 after buying an additional 3,861,668 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Etsy by 313.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 542,505 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,125,000 after buying an additional 411,165 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Etsy by 258.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 118,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,576,000 after acquiring an additional 85,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 48,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.53% of the company’s stock.

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.