Etsy, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ETSY) P/E Is Still On The Mark Following 27% Share Price Bounce

Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 27% after a shaky period beforehand. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 13% over that time.

Since its price has surged higher, Etsy may be sending very bearish signals at the moment with a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 30.7x, since almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios under 17x and even P/E's lower than 10x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

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While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, Etsy's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

See our latest analysis for Etsy

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Etsy.

Is There Enough Growth For Etsy?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Etsy would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 31%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 47% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 27% per year as estimated by the analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 10% per year, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we can see why Etsy is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

What We Can Learn From Etsy's P/E?

Etsy's P/E is flying high just like its stock has during the last month. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that Etsy maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Etsy (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Etsy. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.