Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY)

Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 31,826 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 80% compared to the average volume of 17,650 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Etsy news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 750 shares of Etsy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.50, for a total value of $39,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,279,477.50. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Merilee Buckley sold 1,676 shares of Etsy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.11, for a total value of $85,660.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,069 shares of company stock worth $261,888 in the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Etsy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Etsy by 183.9% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,961,952 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,067,000 after acquiring an additional 3,861,668 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Etsy by 14.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,764,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $339,964,000 after purchasing an additional 721,454 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Etsy by 21.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,215,370 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $248,623,000 after purchasing an additional 734,200 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Etsy by 304.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,402,216 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $82,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Etsy by 76.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,196,932 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,685,000 after purchasing an additional 517,480 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Etsy in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on Etsy from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Etsy from $64.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Etsy from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price target on Etsy from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.71.

Etsy Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ETSY traded up $2.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,166,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,731,703. The firm has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 1.99. Etsy has a 1 year low of $47.10 and a 1 year high of $89.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.19.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $662.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $652.47 million. Etsy had a net margin of 9.17% and a negative return on equity of 46.79%. Etsy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Etsy will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Etsy announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 17.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.