Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Pinterest to “Hold”, although analyst sentiment remains generally positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $26.50.
• Pinterest’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 11.9% year over year to $1.17 billion, but both adjusted EPS ($0.46) and revenue missed expectations. Fourth-quarter revenue guidance also came in below Wall Street forecasts, raising concerns about slowing advertising growth.
• Shares opened at $19.37, well below their 52-week high of $34.12, while several firms recently reduced price targets. Heavy insider selling and elevated put-option activity add further caution despite strong institutional ownership and continued user growth.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Pinterest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Pinterest from $30.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Phillip Securities raised Pinterest to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Pinterest in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Pinterest in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.50.

Pinterest Stock Performance

Shares of PINS stock opened at $19.37 on Friday. Pinterest has a 52 week low of $13.84 and a 52 week high of $34.12. The company has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.25, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.81.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Pinterest had a net margin of 3.81% and a return on equity of 6.39%. The firm's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pinterest will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Benjamin Silbermann sold 93,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.43, for a total transaction of $2,009,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Julia Donnelly sold 59,096 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.48, for a total value of $1,387,574.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 817,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,192,763.32. This trade represents a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 692,877 shares of company stock worth $14,733,501. Company insiders own 8.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pinterest

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Pinterest in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. acquired a new position in Pinterest during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Pinterest in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Pinterest in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pinterest in the third quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors own 88.81% of the company's stock.

More Pinterest News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pinterest this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pinterest reported third-quarter revenue of $1.17 billion, up 11.9% year over year, while global monthly active users rose 10% to a record 661 million. The company also generated $339 million in adjusted EBITDA and $300 million in free cash flow. Pinterest Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc maintained its Buy rating, while Wells Fargo and Cantor Fitzgerald retained Overweight ratings. Their revised targets of $23 imply potential upside from current trading levels, suggesting some analysts still view the selloff as excessive. KeyBanc Remains a Buy on Pinterest
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy put-option activity was reported, with traders buying approximately 17,657 puts—about 23% above typical daily volume. This indicates elevated hedging or bearish speculation but does not confirm the direction of future trading.
• Negative Sentiment: Pinterest missed third-quarter expectations: adjusted EPS was $0.46 versus a $0.49 consensus, and revenue of $1.17 billion fell short of estimates near $1.21 billion. Analysts attributed the miss to pressure on advertising growth. Pinterest Misses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter revenue guidance of approximately $1.45 billion was about 4.7% below Wall Street expectations, fueling concerns that Pinterest’s revenue growth is decelerating during the holiday period. Pinterest Sets Q4 Outlook Below Street View
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut their price targets: Wells Fargo lowered its target from $31 to $23, Barclays from $31 to $24, and Wedbush from $24 to $20; Wedbush also shifted to Neutral. The reductions reinforce concerns about weaker near-term growth and advertising momentum. Wells Fargo Lowers Pinterest Price Target

Pinterest Company Profile

Pinterest, Inc NYSE: PINS operates a visual discovery platform that helps people find ideas and inspiration for activities such as home improvement, cooking, fashion, travel and event planning. Users can discover, save and organize images and videos—known as Pins—on personalized boards and explore recommendations based on their interests.

The company also provides tools for businesses and creators to showcase products and content on the platform. Its advertising business includes promoted Pins and other advertising formats designed to help marketers reach users while they are discovering ideas, researching products and planning purchases.

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