Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Etsy (NYSE:ETSY)

Etsy Inc (NYSE:ETSY) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 46,960 call options on the company. This is an increase of 517% compared to the typical volume of 7,615 call options.

Etsy Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of ETSY stock traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $82.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,000,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,262,447. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.46 and a 200 day moving average of $65.93. The stock has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 46.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.84. Etsy has a 12-month low of $44.00 and a 12-month high of $87.97.

Etsy (NYSE:ETSY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $668.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.10 million. Etsy had a negative return on equity of 34.18% and a net margin of 7.32%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Etsy will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ETSY. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Etsy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore set a $83.00 price target on Etsy in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Etsy from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Arete Research set a $76.00 price target on shares of Etsy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Etsy from an “underweight” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.68.

Insider Activity at Etsy

In other Etsy news, insider Josh Silverman sold 134,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.89, for a total transaction of $9,281,549.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 130,694 shares in the company, valued at $9,003,509.66. This trade represents a 50.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Frederick R. Wilson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.22, for a total transaction of $1,664,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 421,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,062,999.38. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 584,967 shares of company stock valued at $43,908,631 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Etsy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ETSY. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Etsy by 7,217.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,561,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,634,000 after purchasing an additional 7,458,509 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Etsy in the 2nd quarter worth about $120,417,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Etsy by 717.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,497,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314,071 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Etsy by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,111,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Etsy by 51.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,278,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,520 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.53% of the company’s stock.

Etsy Company Profile

Etsy, Inc operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, France, and India. 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. In addition, it offers various seller services, including Etsy Payments, a payment processing service; Etsy Ads, an advertising platform; and Shipping Labels, which allows sellers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India to purchase discounted shipping labels.