Etsy Shares Hit Record As Fake Masks Sales Surge on Platform

American e-commerce website Etsy, which focuses on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies, saw its shares hit a record this week.

The stock has more than tripled in the past three months as demand for face masks surged during the coronavirus pandemic.

The big gains came after botth RBC Capital Markets and Goldman Sachs increased their price targets a day after Jefferies called Etsy a “primary beneficiary of home nesting.”

Since the stock bottomed out on March 20, Etsy’s stock price has more than tripled. The shares jumped 5.1% on Tuesday to a record $101.22.

Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said earlier this month that in April, “sellers were able to suddenly start
creating masks almost out of thin air in a matter of days and get to a point where they could produce and sell hundreds of thousands of masks a day in a matter of weeks.”

“And I don’t know many other retailers who could do something like that – like the agility of our marketplace,” he added.

RBC Capital Markets raised its price target to $117 from $79 and Goldman Sachs increased its target to $120 from $88.

RBC wrote in a report that it conducted a survey of buyers, and 82% of respondents said they expect to spend more on Etsy over the next 12 months.

Jefferies analysts earlier in the week said they see “continued upside” for Etsy based on the trends in e-commerce and the site’s ability to sell a wide assortment of products to new and existing customers.

“In addition to being a primary beneficiary of home nesting, a surge in mask sales on ETSY since April has helped introduce its broader offerings to new shoppers,” wrote the Jefferies analyst. The firm has a $110 price target.

“We also see a rebound in categories related to social events, as states relax restrictions on gatherings, helping offset the impact of moderating mask sales,” they added.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) and have not been compensated for this article.