Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) to Hold

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $55.00 target price on the specialty retailer's stock, up from their previous target price of $45.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.15% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on ETSY. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Etsy from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Etsy from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Etsy in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Etsy from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.83.

Etsy Stock Up 0.5 %

ETSY stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $52.81. The stock had a trading volume of 309,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,746,775. Etsy has a one year low of $47.10 and a one year high of $80.30. The company's 50 day moving average is $54.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.99.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.09). The company 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%. The firm's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Etsy will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Etsy

In other news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.50, for a total value of $39,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,279,477.50. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Etsy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Etsy by 106.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 448 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Etsy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,519 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Etsy by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,302 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.53% of the company's stock.

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.