Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Pinterest (NYSE:PINS)

Pinterest, Inc. (NYSE:PINS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 66,185 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 83% compared to the typical daily volume of 36,226 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PINS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut shares of Pinterest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Pinterest from $36.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Pinterest from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Pinterest in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Argus downgraded Pinterest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nineteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Malik Ducard sold 2,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.06, for a total transaction of $50,583.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 695,187 shares in the company, valued at $15,335,825.22. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Donnelly Julia Brau sold 22,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.86, for a total value of $590,151.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 540,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,973,657.88. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 34,457 shares of company stock valued at $876,925 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pinterest

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Pinterest by 505.7% during the 3rd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in Pinterest by 3,839.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 906 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pinterest during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Pinterest by 2,017.3% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pinterest during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. 88.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pinterest Trading Down 5.9%

Shares of PINS traded down $1.14 on Thursday, reaching $18.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,499,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,624,436. Pinterest has a twelve month low of $13.84 and a twelve month high of $39.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.66 and a 200-day moving average of $27.56.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Pinterest had a net margin of 9.87% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pinterest will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.