Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 2,478,708 Shares of Pinterest, Inc. (NYSE:PINS)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly increased its investment in Pinterest, Inc. by 4,673.9% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 2,531,741 shares valued at approximately $78.48 million.
• Several other large investors also expanded their stakes in Pinterest, including Cetera Investment Advisers and Vestor Capital LLC, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 88.81% in the company.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Pinterest, with most rating the stock as a "buy" or "outperform," resulting in a consensus target price of $41.81.

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Pinterest, Inc. (NYSE:PINS - Free Report) by 4,673.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,531,741 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,478,708 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.37% of Pinterest worth $78,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pinterest by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 15,951 shares of the company's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pinterest by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,706 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pinterest by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 46,613 shares of the company's stock worth $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pinterest by 97.7% in the 1st quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pinterest by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,787 shares of the company's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pinterest

In related news, Director Benjamin Silbermann sold 408,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total value of $13,540,289.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $208,045.84. This trade represents a 98.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,502,611 shares of company stock valued at $51,602,943 over the last three months. 7.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pinterest Stock Performance

PINS stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.05. 3,849,781 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,665,885. Pinterest, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.68 and a 1-year high of $40.90. The firm has a market cap of $25.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $34.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.67.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.02). Pinterest had a net margin of 50.41% and a return on equity of 8.13%. The business had revenue of $854.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. Pinterest's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pinterest, Inc. will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PINS. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Pinterest from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $41.00) on shares of Pinterest in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Pinterest from an "overweight" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pinterest from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Pinterest from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pinterest has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.81.

About Pinterest

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.