Etsy shares ride high on bullish bank outlooks

The bulls are b🔯etting on an ex-unicorn from Brook✱lyn.

Etsy ended higher Friday on the Nasdaq, as shares of the Brooklyn-based company wrap up a week that saw 𝄹two bullish calls by investment banks.

RBC Capital Markets upgraded Etsy Thursday to outperform, from market perform, pinning its optimism on new initiatives at the e-commerce website that involve free shipping, a new ad platform and Etsy’s acquisition of music gear marketplace Reverb.

“Over the past two months, Etsy has announced ꧅three initiatives we believe could have a mid-to-long-term positive impact on Etsy’s business and upside” to Wall Street’s estimates for next year and 2021, wrote Shweta Khajuria and Mark Mahaney, both analysts at RBC Capital Markets, in a research note.

In other words, t💮hey wrote, “Etsy is ✱becoming more special.”

In July, Etsy announced it will hel♒p sellers guarantee free shipping on orders of more than $35, and later acquired Reverb for $275 million. In the third quarter, the company launched Etsy Ads, a new tool for sellers, wh🔴ich the analysts expect will boost revenue.

Khajuria and Mahaney also raised Etsy’s priceꦡ target by $5, to $68 per share.

Also on Thursday, another investment bank that was already bullish on Etsy further raised its expectations after Etsy disclosed ❀new information relating to Reverb, .

The analyst, Marvin Fong from BTIG, reiterated his buy rating and raised Etsy’s price target to $79, noting that new nuꦫmbers from Etsy may make the company’s acquisitওion “look like a smart move,” according to the financial paper.

Wall Street, however, also knows that Etsy faceꦚs competition from many corners of the reta💟il world, from other e-commerce companies to traditional and specialty retailers, many of which, noted RBC Capital Markets, “are better capitalized.”

Etsy shares closed Frܫiday at $60.41, some 10% higher than its opening price Monday, outperforming🌌 the major indexes for the week.