Etsy issued a weak first-quarter forecast on slow demand
Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) is sliding after earnings, down 7.4% at $71.39 at last check. The online marketplace announced fourth-quarter earnings of 78 cents per share, in line with analyst expectations, and higher-than-anticipated revenue. However, the company also issued a weak first-quarter sales forecast due to weak demand. No fewer than 11 analysts cut their price targets after the event, though three chimed in with hikes.
Since last February, ETSY is down 44.8%. The stock has had a fairly volatile start to the year, while its 200-day moving average has helped keep gains in check this month. Part of today's drop could've already been in the cards, per Etsy stock's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) of 70.2, which sits in "overbought" territory.
Over in the options pits, 25,000 calls and 29,000 puts have been exchanged -- volume that is five times the amount typically seen at this point. The weekly 2/23 70-strike put is the most active contract, followed by the 65-strike put in the same weekly series.
It's also worth noting that short interest has been building, up 9.3% in the last month, and now represents 12.3% of the stock's available float. It would take over three days for shorts to buy back their bets, at ETSY's average pace of trading.