Investing.com -- Less than six weeks after a successful initial public offering last month, Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) saw its shares plunge more than 17% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after reporting disappointing earnings for the first quarter.
Etsy, a peer-to-peer, e-Commerce marketplace focused on sales of vintage items, reported net losses of $36.6 million or 0.84 per share in the quarter, significantly below analysts' forecasts of a $59 million or 0.03 per share gain. Although the Brooklyn-based company has consistently posted net losses in each of the last three years, its quarterly losses in the first quarter of 2014 were minimal when it lost $463,000 or 0.01 per share.
"Our recent IPO is a milestone in our mission to reimagine commerce in ways that build a more fulfilling and lasting world," CEO Chad Dickerson said in a statement. "We made progress down our path to make Etsy an everyday experience, build local marketplaces, globally, offer high-impact seller services, and expand the Etsy economy. We will continue to concentrate on creating long-term value for Etsy and our community, which we believe will result in sustainable long-term returns for our investors."
Etsy's number of active sellers rose from 1.1 million during the first quarter last year to 1.4 million for the period ending on March 31. Etsy also increased its number of active buyers from 15.3 million to 20.8 million on a year-over-year basis.
Through the end of trading on Tuesday, Etsy shares had gained more than 30% from its price of $16 on its first day of trading in early-April.
Shares in Etsy in after-hours plummeted 3.61 or 17.19% to 17.39.