Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) Rating Increased to Buy at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. Benchmark currently has $55.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on PINS. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Pinterest from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Pinterest in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Pinterest from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Pinterest in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Pinterest from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.86.

Pinterest Stock Up 19.1 %

NYSE:PINS opened at $40.02 on Friday. Pinterest has a fifty-two week low of $27.00 and a fifty-two week high of $45.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.57. The stock has a market cap of $27.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.06.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.30). Pinterest had a net margin of 51.07% and a return on equity of 9.20%. Equities analysts anticipate that Pinterest will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Wanjiku Juanita Walcott sold 11,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.82, for a total transaction of $365,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,610,105.22. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gokul Rajaram sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $34,189.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,536 shares in the company, valued at $967,295.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,157 shares of company stock valued at $589,131 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pinterest

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in Pinterest by 47.6% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 57,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 18,430 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of Pinterest by 8.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,540,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,855,000 after buying an additional 119,367 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Pinterest by 4.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 844,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,326,000 after purchasing an additional 32,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Pinterest by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,252,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,669,000 after buying an additional 87,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in shares of Pinterest by 20.3% in the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 404,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,087,000 after purchasing an additional 68,096 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.81% of the company’s stock.

Pinterest Company Profile

Pinterest, Inc operates as a visual search and discovery platform in the United States and internationally. Its platform allows people to find ideas, such as recipes, home and style inspiration, and others; and to search, save, and shop the ideas. The company was formerly known as Cold Brew Labs Inc and changed its name to Pinterest, Inc in April 2012.