What's Going On With Pinterest Stock?

Shares of idea discovery platform company Pinterest Inc PINS are down Tuesday. The stock traded sharply lower after the company reported fourth-quarter results, but it bounced back after CEO Bill Ready said the company slowed the pace of hiring and cut spending in the fourth quarter.

Several analysts are also out with positive adjustments following the company's quarterly results.

• Q4 Revenue: $877.21 million missed estimates of $886.44 million
• Q4 EPS: $0.29 beat estimates of $0.27

"2022 was a solid year as we returned to MAU growth, deepened engagement and saw our personalization and relevance investments start to pay off," Ready said.

Global monthly active users increased 4% year-over-year to 450 million. Pinterest's board also authorized a buyback of up to $500 million of its common stock over the next year. 

Following the report, Ready told investors and analysts during the earnings call that the company took cost control measures during the quarter, including slowing its pace of hiring and cutting back on infrastructure spending.

Related Link: Pinterest Slows Hiring, Tightens Spends To Sweeten Margins — But This Is Its Key Focus This Year

Separately, Pinterest said CFO Todd Morgenfeld will step down from his role at Pinterest to pursue new career opportunities, effective July 1.

Outlook: Pinterest anticipates that first-quarter revenue will grow low single digits on a year-over-year basis. Operating expenses are expected to decline to a low double digit percent quarter-over-quarter.

Analyst Assessment: Several analysts raised price targets on the stock following the company's report.

• Keybanc analyst Justin Patterson maintained Pinterest with an Overweight and raised the price target from $28 to $32.
• Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion maintained Pinterest with an Overweight and raised the price target from $30 to $32.
• Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett maintained Pinterest with a Neutral and raised the price target from $23 to $26.
• Credit Suisse analyst Stephen Ju maintained Pinterest with a Neutral and raised the price target from $25 to $26.
• Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak maintained Pinterest with an Equal-Weight and raised the price target from $19 to $22.

PINS Price Action: Pinterest has a 52-week high of $29.17 and a 52-week low of $16.14.

The stock fell 10% in Monday's after-hours session before bouncing back. Pinterest shares were down 0.5% at $27.25 at time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Photo Mix from Pixabay.