Analyst Update: Etsy, Wayfair, CytRx Corporation

Analysts are weighing in today on Wall Street newcomer Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY), online retailer Wayfair Inc (NYSE:W), and biotech firm CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR). Here's a quick look at today's brokerage notes on ETSY, W, and CYTR.

• The shares of ETSY debuted on the Street yesterday, hitting an intraday high of $35.74 before settling at $29.77 -- 86% north of their IPO price of $16. Today, Etsy Inc is has lost some steam, down 3.3% at $29. Meanwhile, Wedbush reaffirmed both its "neutral" rating and $14 price target on the equity, which represents a 51.7% deficit to current trading levels. Additionally, the brokerage firm said that while it expects Etsy "to enjoy rapid near-term growth rates within its niche as it increases its marketing spend … some questionable seller practices may draw scrutiny, eventually limiting volume growth." Plus, Wedbush opined, ETSY's valuation is now "well beyond the high end of any comparable group."


• Goldman Sachs lowered its opinion on W to "neutral" from "buy" -- and removed it from its "America's Buy List" -- sending the shares 6.5% lower to $32.30. Technically speaking, Wayfair Inc has been a standout performer in 2015, with the shares up 62.7% year-to-date, in part due to a post-earnings bull gap last month. Accordingly, options traders have been call-skewed in recent weeks -- over the past 10 days at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), 7.27 W calls have been bought to open for every put. Elsewhere, short sellers have taken a shine to the security, as a staggering 41.4% of its available float is sold short. It would take these bettors nearly 12 sessions to cover their positions, at average trading volumes.


• Oppenheimer initiated coverage on CYTR with an "outperform" rating and a $10 price target -- nearly double the shares' current perch -- citing optimism about the firm's experimental cancer drug. At last check, the shares of CytRx Corporation were up 14% to $5.13, bringing their year-to-date advance to 87.2%. In the options pits, short-term speculators have been more call-heavy than usual, as CYTR's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.16 is lower than 78% of all similar readings from the past year. Meanwhile, nearly 30% of the stock's available float is sold short, which would take over 17 sessions to cover, at average trading volumes.