ETSY, PYPL, GES Stocks Downgraded Today

Guess is shrugging off a price-target cut after a well-received earnings report

May 25, 2017 at 10:00 AM
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Analysts are weighing in on e-commerce stock Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY), digital payments platform Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL), and retailer Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on shares of ETSY, PYPL, and GES.

ETSY Stock Dips After Citigroup Downgrade

Citigroup cut its rating on Etsy stock to "neutral" from "buy," but lifted its price target by $1 to $14. The brokerage firm said "the market is hoping for near-term M&A, but holding on to this thinking could disappoint investors." While ETSY stock is down 1% today at $13.31, the shares are still nearly 40% above their March lows -- due to a recent hedge fund-inspired bull gap. Short sellers have started exiting their positions amid this surge, but Etsy remains heavily shorted. While short interest fell 1.2% in the most recent reporting period, it accounts for almost 12% of the stock's available float.

Red-Hot PYPL Stock Takes a Breather

Paypal stock just hit a record high of $51.08 yesterday, bringing its year-to-date lead to almost 30%. Still, Stifel downgraded PYPL stock to "hold" from "buy." While PYPL shares are trading down 0.6% at $50.75, they are holding above the round $50 level -- home to the stock's previous highs. Should PYPL resume its longer-term uptrend, there's plenty of room for short sellers to continue to cover -- which could create tailwinds for the shares. Though short interest declined 1.7% in the two most recent reporting periods, 30.2 million Paypal shares are still sold short -- and would take nearly four sessions to cover, at the average pace of trading. 

Earnings Beat Lifts GES Stock

Guess shares are up 14% at $11.42, after the retailer reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. GES stock is shrugging off a price-target cut to $11 from $12 at Jefferies, which came following an extended period of negative price action for the shares. Heading into today's trading, GES stock had shed nearly two-fifths of its value year-over-year, and hit an 11-year low of $9.56 last Friday. As such, today's post-earnings pop could be catching short sellers off guard, considering more than 16% of the stock's float is sold short.

 

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