Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $45.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $37.00. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.00% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Pinterest from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on Pinterest from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Pinterest from $50.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Pinterest from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Pinterest from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.71.

Pinterest Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE PINS traded up $0.14 on Monday, reaching $38.14. 7,043,830 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,081,998. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $34.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.44. The company has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.94. Pinterest has a 12 month low of $23.68 and a 12 month high of $42.02.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $854.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.49 million. Pinterest had a return on equity of 8.13% and a net margin of 50.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pinterest will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pinterest

In other news, Director Gokul Rajaram sold 1,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total transaction of $42,412.00. Following the sale, the director owned 31,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,170,940. The trade was a 3.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Benjamin Silbermann sold 102,083 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.01, for a total value of $3,676,008.83. Following the sale, the director owned 8,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $302,988.14. The trade was a 92.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,381,678 shares of company stock valued at $46,988,343. 7.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pinterest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Pinterest by 16.5% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Riverpark Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pinterest by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Riverpark Capital Management LLC now owns 31,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Pinterest by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,040 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. lifted its position in shares of Pinterest by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 35,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pinterest by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 15,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.81% of the company's stock.

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.