Credit Suisse Cuts Pinterest's Price Target By 16%; Awaits New CEO's Leadership Amid Ongoing User Decline

Credit Suisse analyst Stephen Ju reiterated Neutral on Pinterest, Inc PINS and cut the price target from $31 to $26.
With the appointment of former Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google President of Commerce Bill Ready as Pinterest's new CEO, investor focus this quarter should shift away from ongoing MAU declines to any potential changes to strategic direction and product updates.
Given Ready's efforts at Google Ju, expect him to bring a sharper focus along the same shopping/commerce product direction Pinterest was already on.
Incremental items to the strategy will be any changes to navigating MAU normalization trends, growing competition for short-form video content, and progress on onboarding SMBs with expanded automation tools and new formats.
In the near term, Ju's advertiser checks indicate those verticals in which Pinterest has greater exposure remained challenged in 2Q22. Advertisers also exhibited macro downturn-oriented behavior in looking to consolidate budgets to the more prominent destinations in pursuit of higher ROI.
His 2022/2023 revenue growth rates now stand at 11% and 9%, respectively, versus the prior 12% and 12%.
Price Action: PINS shares traded higher by 2.57% at $20.77 on the last check Tuesday.
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