Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Pinterest, Inc. (NYSE:PINS) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.19, but opened at $22.09. Pinterest shares last traded at $22.0750, with a volume of 1,469,363 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PINS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Pinterest from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Pinterest from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Pinterest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Pinterest in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Pinterest in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nineteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.90.

Pinterest Trading Down 6.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.12 billion, a PE ratio of 63.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.81, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.52.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.07. Pinterest had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 5.46%.The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. Pinterest’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Pinterest, Inc. will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pinterest

In related news, insider Wanjiku Juanita Walcott sold 14,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.65, for a total transaction of $279,187.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 691,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,656. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Benjamin Silbermann sold 46,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.53, for a total transaction of $1,102,968.75. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 555,344 shares of company stock worth $12,335,578 over the last 90 days. 8.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pinterest

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PINS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pinterest during the fourth quarter valued at $357,945,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Pinterest by 1,141.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,161,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,733,000 after buying an additional 10,262,547 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Pinterest by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,492,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,432,000 after buying an additional 7,412,213 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pinterest by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,808,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,082,000 after buying an additional 6,258,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Pinterest by 271.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,988,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,831,000 after buying an additional 4,375,000 shares in the last quarter. 88.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pinterest Company Profile

Pinterest, Inc operates a visual discovery platform that helps users find inspiration and ideas for projects ranging from home design and fashion to cooking and travel. Users create and curate “Pins” — images or videos linked to content — organized on thematic boards. The service is available through its website and mobile applications and emphasizes personalized recommendations and visual search to surface relevant content based on user interests.

The company’s primary revenue model is advertising, offering promoted content formats that integrate into user feeds and search results.