Etsy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:ETSY)

Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 32,117 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 99% compared to the average volume of 16,123 call options.

Etsy Trading Up 9.3 %

Shares of Etsy stock traded up $4.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $52.44. 6,402,122 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,743,836. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.97. Etsy has a 1-year low of $47.10 and a 1-year high of $89.58.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last released 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 company had revenue of $662.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $652.47 million. Etsy had a negative return on equity of 51.94% and a net margin of 10.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Etsy will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ETSY shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Etsy in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Etsy from $72.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Etsy from $64.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Etsy from $58.00 to $47.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Etsy

In related news, CAO Merilee Buckley sold 1,676 shares of Etsy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.11, for a total value of $85,660.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Etsy news, 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 transaction of $85,660.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.40, for a total value of $41,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,798.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,619 shares of company stock valued at $240,825. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Etsy by 304.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,402,216 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $82,703,000 after buying an additional 1,055,296 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Etsy by 21.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,215,370 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $248,623,000 after acquiring an additional 734,200 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Etsy by 14.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,764,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $339,964,000 after purchasing an additional 721,454 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Etsy by 52.3% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,100,284 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $123,875,000 after purchasing an additional 721,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Etsy by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,196,932 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,685,000 after purchasing an additional 517,480 shares during the last quarter. 99.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.