Stock Markets August 20, 2026 08:57 AM

Rosenblatt Starts Coverage on Three E-commerce Names, Backs Etsy and eBay While Taking a Cautious View on Chewy

Brokerage sets Buy ratings on Etsy and eBay with multi-digit targets; Chewy rated Neutral amid limited upside from valuation

By Nina Shah
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Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage of Etsy, eBay and Chewy, assigning Buy ratings to Etsy and eBay and a Neutral rating to Chewy. The firm highlighted improving execution, strategic moves and AI integrations for Etsy and eBay, while saying Chewy’s valuation already reflects operational progress and offers constrained upside. Rosenblatt published detailed 2026 forecasts and margin outlooks for the three companies.

Rosenblatt Starts Coverage on Three E-commerce Names, Backs Etsy and eBay While Taking a Cautious View on Chewy
EBAY ETSY CHWY
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Key Points

  • Rosenblatt initiated Etsy with a Buy rating and $95 target, citing four consecutive quarters of improving GMS, a 29.2% adjusted EBITDA margin in H1 2026, the $1.4 billion Depop sale and a $2 billion share-repurchase program.
  • eBay was also started with a Buy rating and $120 target; Q2 GMV rose 15% year over year, focus categories and recommerce grew strongly, advertising expanded and Rosenblatt projects 2026 GMV of $90.1 billion with non-GAAP EPS of $6.18.
  • Chewy received a Neutral rating with a $25 target; Autoship accounted for 84.4% of Q1 sales, and Rosenblatt expects adjusted EBITDA margin to rise from 6.7% in 2026 to about 7.9% in 2028 with AI-driven logistics savings of more than $50 million annually by 2027.

Rosenblatt Securities opened formal coverage of three publicly traded e-commerce companies on Wednesday, issuing Buy recommendations for Etsy and eBay and a Neutral rating for Chewy as investors balance evidence of stronger execution against a backdrop of slower market expansion.

Etsy

The brokerage initiated Etsy with a Buy rating and a $95 price target. Rosenblatt said the marketplace appears to have reached an inflection point after four straight quarters of improving gross merchandise sales. It pointed to the sale of Depop for $1.4 billion as having refocused management on Etsy’s higher-margin core operations, and it noted that adjusted EBITDA margin reached 29.2% in the first half of 2026. In addition, Etsy announced a $2 billion share repurchase program.

Rosenblatt’s 2026 projections call for Etsy marketplace GMS to increase 5.5% to $11 billion, with revenue of $2.8 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $840 million. The firm highlighted more than 100 million lapsed buyers as a reactivation opportunity, and it identified integrations with ChatGPT and Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol as potential enhancers of AI-led product discovery.

eBay

eBay was also started with a Buy rating and a $120 price target. Rosenblatt pointed to a pronounced acceleration in eBay’s turnaround, citing a 15% year-over-year rise in second-quarter GMV. The brokerage broke down that focus categories, consumer-to-consumer sales and recommerce together accounted for roughly 70% of GMV, with each of those segments growing more than 20%. Focus categories alone expanded 26%.

Rosenblatt expects eBay’s advertising arm to supply another stream of high-margin expansion after reporting first-party ads up 25% in the second quarter and total advertising comprising 2.7% of GMV. The firm also highlighted AI-driven listing tools, the eBay Live initiative and the $1.4 billion acquisition of Depop as additional potential growth drivers.

For 2026, Rosenblatt projects eBay GMV of $90.1 billion, an increase of 13.2%, revenue of $12.5 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $6.18, a year-over-year rise of 12%. The brokerage further expects non-GAAP EPS to grow at a 17% compound annual rate over the next three years.

Chewy

Chewy received a Neutral rating with a $25 price target. Rosenblatt described Chewy as a high-quality operator that continues to take share as pet spending moves online, but the firm said the company’s current valuation already reflects improving execution and leaves limited upside to core-business estimates.

The brokerage noted that Autoship, which represented 84.4% of sales in the first quarter, supports recurring revenue and bolsters customer retention. Rosenblatt also cited Vet Care, equine health and sponsored advertising as potential sources of higher-margin growth. On margins, Rosenblatt expects adjusted EBITDA to rise from 6.7% in 2026 to about 7.9% in 2028, and it forecast AI-driven logistics savings exceeding $50 million annually by 2027.


Takeaway

Rosenblatt’s initial coverage frames Etsy and eBay as beneficiaries of improving execution, structural initiatives and AI-related enhancements, while Chewy is positioned as a steady operator whose valuation already prices much of the progress. The firm supplied explicit top-line and margin forecasts for 2026 and beyond for each company.


Context and next steps

Investors will likely weigh Rosenblatt’s detailed forecasts and margin assumptions against broader market growth rates and company execution when assessing these recommendations. The coverage provides targets and assumptions to monitor in upcoming quarterly reports and strategic updates.

Risks

  • Slower underlying market growth could temper revenue and GMV expansion across e-commerce platforms, affecting earnings and valuation expectations.
  • Chewy’s valuation already incorporates improving execution, which Rosenblatt says limits upside to core-business estimates and raises uncertainty about significant shareholder returns from multiple expansion.
  • Planned benefits from AI integrations, listing tools and buyer reactivation initiatives represent execution-dependent variables that will influence whether projected GMS, revenue and margin targets are achieved.

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