Pinterest, Inc. (NYSE:PINS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Pinterest, Inc. (NYSE:PINS) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,760,000 shares, a drop of 27.9% from the October 15th total of 23,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Pinterest Stock Performance

PINS stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $29.36. The company had a trading volume of 12,726,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,603,151. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.27. The company has a market capitalization of $20.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.02. Pinterest has a fifty-two week low of $27.00 and a fifty-two week high of $45.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PINS has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Pinterest from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Pinterest from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target (down from $45.00) on shares of Pinterest in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Pinterest from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Pinterest from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

Insider Transactions at Pinterest

In other news, Director Gokul Rajaram sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.52, for a total transaction of $38,548.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,686 shares in the company, valued at $1,129,154.72. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Donnelly Julia Brau sold 30,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.72, for a total value of $990,761.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,729,324.72. The trade was a 9.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pinterest

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in shares of Pinterest by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 404,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,087,000 after purchasing an additional 68,096 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Pinterest by 8.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,944,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,423,000 after buying an additional 460,708 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Pinterest by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 447,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,598,000 after buying an additional 51,455 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Pinterest during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,517,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Pinterest by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 613,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,358,000 after acquiring an additional 169,052 shares during the last quarter. 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.