Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 23,209 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,289,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Etsy by 106.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Etsy by 112.3% in 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 period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Etsy in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Etsy in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Etsy in the 1st quarter valued at $59,000. 99.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Etsy Price Performance

Shares of Etsy stock opened at $53.31 on Friday. Etsy, Inc. has a one year low of $47.10 and a one year high of $89.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.37 and its 200 day moving average is $57.66. The firm has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 1.99.

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ETSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Etsy from $64.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded Etsy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer downgraded Etsy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group lowered 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 15th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Etsy news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.40, for a total value of $41,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,798.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Merilee Buckley sold 1,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.11, for a total value of $85,660.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.40, for a total value of $41,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,798.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,369 shares of company stock worth $280,200. Corporate insiders own 2.60% 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.