Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NASDAQGS, rising to highs of US$78.85 and falling to the lows of US$59.24. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Etsy's current trading price of US$61.92 reflective of the actual value of the mid-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let's take a look at Etsy's outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

What's The Opportunity In Etsy?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. We've used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there's not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock's ratio of 24.46x is currently trading slightly above its industry peers' ratio of 23.93x, which means if you buy Etsy today, you'd be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe Etsy should be trading in this range, then there isn't really any room for the share price grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. Although, there may be an opportunity to buy in the future. This is because Etsy's beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the company's shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity.

Can we expect growth from Etsy?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you're looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it's the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by 64% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Etsy. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? ETSY's optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven't considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at ETSY? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you've been keeping an eye on ETSY, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the optimistic forecast is encouraging for ETSY, which means it's worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

If you'd like to know more about Etsy as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 is potentially serious!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Etsy.

If you are no longer interested in Etsy, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.