Investors Buy Large Volume of Pinterest Call Options (NYSE:PINS)

Pinterest, Inc. (NYSE:PINS) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 51,502 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 46% compared to the average volume of 35,161 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Pinterest from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Pinterest in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Pinterest from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Pinterest from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Pinterest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sabrina Ellis sold 24,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total transaction of $866,310.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 500,504 shares in the company, valued at $17,762,886.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jeffrey D. Jordan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.29, for a total transaction of $725,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 94,215 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,062.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sabrina Ellis sold 24,410 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total transaction of $866,310.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 500,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,762,886.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,250 shares of company stock worth $5,484,246 over the last ninety days. 6.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pinterest

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PINS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Pinterest by 372.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,073,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,394,000 after purchasing an additional 15,825,757 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Pinterest by 262.8% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 11,515,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,399,000 after buying an additional 8,341,222 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pinterest during the 4th quarter worth about $241,229,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Pinterest by 1,188.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,989,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,850,000 after buying an additional 5,524,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pinterest by 279,496.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 4,672,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,286,000 after buying an additional 4,670,394 shares in the last quarter. 88.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pinterest Stock Performance

NYSE PINS opened at $34.87 on Thursday. Pinterest has a one year low of $20.60 and a one year high of $41.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.68 billion, a PE ratio of -581.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $981.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.62 million. Pinterest had a negative net margin of 1.17% and a positive return on equity of 3.83%. Equities analysts forecast that Pinterest will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Pinterest Company Profile

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.