By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) rose 1.5% after Atlantic Equities initiated coverage with an overweight rating.
"We see Etsy as a unique digital retail growth story, benefitting from a number of strong consumer trends, including the growth of digital commerce, and consumers' growing desire for more meaningful consumption," said analyst Daniela Nedialkova, according to StreetInsider.
She placed a price target of $200 on the stock, which is about 22% higher than current levels.
Shares soared almost 700% from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to a record in March. Profit and sales jumped over the past 15 months because we were really bored and needed something to craft and something to buy. As the pandemic has eased in the U.S., shares have dropped about 30% since March.
"Etsy is highly differentiated from other digital pure-plays via its strong brand and community-building," Nedialkova wrote in a note. "Its assortment of unique, handcrafted, personalised goods is another barrier to entry, and the community of sellers and buyers Etsy has already established would be difficult to replicate."
Revenue growth should exceed 20% for the next several years, along with ongoing growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, the analyst said.