Etsy investors risk more pain after record selloff, inflation

Bloomberg

Etsy Inc’s bad news for investors goes beyond the 66% plunge that’s the second-biggest in the S&P 500 Index this year: The unraveling of the platform for craft sales may have further to go, especially with the fastest inflation in 40 years crimping consumer budgets.
With Etsy shares already near their cheapest on record, UBS Group AG slashed its price target by 50% this month, while Morgan Stanley said Wall Street’s earnings estimates for the second half might still be too high. The boost in online sales from the pandemic is fading, said Ken Leon, director of equity research at CFRA.
“Etsy is facing a behavioral shift away from sheltering at home and having abundant time at home to buy personal items,” he said.
Etsy is heading for the biggest annual stock decline in its seven years as a listed company. Yet the shares are still more than 60% higher than their 2019 closing level, while other e-commerce companies like Shopify Inc. are back to their pre-Covid prices as shoppers, who were already returning to their pre-pandemic habits, tighten their purse strings amid higher prices.
After years of double-digit revenue increases, Etsy’s sales growth is forecast to slow to 9.7% in 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That data point alone could spark an exit at a time when investors stand ready to punish companies that don’t deliver blowout results and strong forecasts.
“Earnings revisions for a large portion of our e-commerce coverage may have just started,” said Morgan Stanley analysts led by Lauren Schenk.
“Thus most stocks likely have not bottomed.” Schenk said in a report last week she remains cautious on Etsy, which helps merchants sell handmade crafts and vintage items, and furniture retailer Wayfair Inc, and questioned the durability of their growth given the weak economic environment.
E-commerce stocks have slumped this year as the most recent earnings season laid bare the quickly fading pandemic-driven boom because of inflation and concerns of a recession that are weighing on consumers.