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Pinterest Soars to Record Highs Amid Microsoft Buyout Rumors

The analyst sees online advertising on the rebound

Deputy Editor
Feb 11, 2021 at 10:43 AM
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Pinterest Inc (NYSE:PINS) was reportedly approached by Microsoft (MSFT) with a proposal for a potential takeover in recent months, according to the Financial Times. It was added, however, that negotiations were not currently active. Still, PINS was last seen up 4.1% to trade at $85.18, and earlier hit a new all-time high of $87.05.

Today's news helped PINS topple the resistant $82 level, which acted as a ceiling in recent sessions. Pinterest stock has done an incredible job brushing off the pandemic, especially when you consider the equity traded as low as $10.10 during last March's broader-market pullback. In fact, Pinterest stock now boasts an incredible 256.4% year-over-year lead. 

Taking a look at analyst sentiment, Zephirin Group hiked its price-target to $43, but downgraded the equity to "sell" from "hold." Coming into today, 14 of the 19 in coverage still consider the equity a "buy" or better. Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $89.10 is 3.9% premium to current levels. 

Today's options pits are seeing calls fly off the shelves. Already, 53,000 calls have exchanged hands -- triple the amount that's typically seen at this point -- versus just 7,064 puts. The February 90 call is the most popular, followed by the weekly 2/12 90-strike call, with new positions being opened at the latter.

Meanwhile, short sellers are likely kicking rocks today. Short interest has skyrocketed during the most recent reporting period, up 48.9%. The 19.63 million shares sold short make up a hefty 22.8% of PIN's available float, and would take a just under two days to cover, at the equity's average pace of trading. 

Lastly, now seems like the right time to weigh in on PINS options. The security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 55% sits in the 12th percentile of all other annual readings, meaning the stock sports attractively priced premiums at the moment. Meanwhile, its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 92 (out of 100) implies the shares have regularly made bigger moves than options traders were pricing in during the last 12 months.

 

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