Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) started the week off on the right foot, after UBS upgraded the social media stock to buy and said shares could pop more than 25% as the company improves its advertising strategy.
Analyst Lloyd Walmsley raised the firm's rating on Pinterest shares to buy from neutral and boosted the per-share price target to $35 from $27, implying 27% upside, while raising 2024 estimates for revenue and EBITDA.
Walmsley noted the company is progressing in its advertising technology, including partner monetization, as a way to improve revenue growth. Additionally, the analyst noted that early advertiser feedback on Pinterest's partnership with Liveramp suggests "significant" improvement in making ads more efficient, which should help drive budgets and may unlock additional demand.
"Advertisers tell US Pinterest is taking bolder steps and moving more rapidly under its new CEO, Bill Ready, which gives us more confidence in the likelihood of execution overall," Walmsley wrote in an investor note.
Pinterest shares have benefited in recent days as the potential for a ban of TikTok in the U.S. increases .
Analysts are largely cautious on Pinterest. It has a “Hold” rating from Seeking Alpha authors , while Wall Street analysts rate it a BUY .
Conversely, Seeking Alpha's quant system, which consistently beats the market, rates PINS a “Hold” .
Shares in PINS gained $1.25, or 4.6%, early Monday to $28.72.
