JPMorgan moved Pinterest Inc (NYSE: PINS) from an Overweight to a Neutral recommendation and trimmed its price target to $20.00 from $36.00 on Friday, responding to guidance that suggests moderating revenue growth. The updated target sits slightly above Pinterest's quoted price of $18.54 and the shares are trading close to a 52-week low of $18.28.
The downgrade followed an after-hours sell-off in which Pinterest shares tumbled 18% after the company issued first-quarter revenue growth guidance in a band of 11% to 14%, a deceleration from the fourth quarter's year-over-year revenue increase of 14%. The recent decline compounds the stock's extended weakness: Pinterest is down 48.18% over the past six months and 52.57% over the past year.
JPMorgan flagged specific headwinds tied to large retailers in the US, Canada and Europe that are managing tariff-related margin pressure. The bank warned that those pressures could intensify in the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, data from InvestingPro suggests the shares may be undervalued relative to a Fair Value assessment, and InvestingPro assigns Pinterest an overall financial health score of "GREAT" at 3.25. Technical indicators cited in InvestingPro data also indicate the stock is trading in oversold territory.
Part of Pinterest's near-term revenue pressure stems from its strategic shift to diversify its advertiser base. The company is working to expand its customer roster to include mid-market businesses and small-to-medium-sized enterprises, which currently account for roughly 15% of revenue. JPMorgan noted that this go-to-market transition has introduced short-term headwinds to top-line performance.
Pinterest has outlined expectations for its 2026 adjusted EBITDA margins to remain flat year-over-year at approximately 30% (about 29% including tvScientific), as management prioritizes investments in a sales transformation and in AI initiatives. Company guidance indicates those investments will be concentrated in the first half of the year, placing pressure on margin metrics in the near term.
The downgrade from JPMorgan arrives amid a broader reappraisal of Pinterest by other brokers following the company's fourth-quarter 2025 results. Pinterest posted EPS of $0.67, missing the consensus of $0.68, and reported revenue of $1.319 billion versus expected revenue of $1.33 billion. The slightly softer-than-expected print coincided with several analyst moves.
Evercore ISI downgraded Pinterest from Outperform to In Line, signaling concern about slowing growth. UBS trimmed its price target to $26.00 from $40.00 while keeping a Buy rating in place; UBS also lowered its 2026 revenue estimate by 2% and cut its adjusted EBITDA projection for 2026 by 9%. Baird moved its recommendation from Outperform to Neutral and cut its price target to $20.00 from $35.00, pointing to difficulties among larger advertisers and the impact of recent restructuring on near-term expectations.
Taken together, the broker actions underline investor concern about the pace of Pinterest's growth and the timing of returns from management's investments. While some data points indicate financial resilience and technical oversold conditions, the mix of softer guidance, retailer margin pressure and strategic shifts in advertising customers has prompted multiple firms to temper their near-term outlooks for the stock.
Additional context: The company's guidance and subsequent analyst reactions illustrate the intersection of advertiser dynamics, retailer margin pressures, and corporate investment choices on near-term revenue and profitability metrics. Investors face a mix of valuation signals and execution risks as the company retools its sales approach and pushes forward with AI and sales transformation spending.