Pinterest’s stock price has fallen in recent years, and one analyst thinks the stock could rise significantly. TD Cowen called Pinterest “the best Smidcap idea of 2026” in a note to clients on Monday. Analyst John Blackledge has a $38 price target on the social media platform based on LSEG data, implying a strong 83% upside and giving it the highest price target compared to other companies tracking the stock. PINS Year-to-date line Pinterest down 25% this year “Going forward, we expect Pinterest to grow its share of the global digital advertising market, helped by favorable user and engagement trends, along with increased adoption of the company’s Performance+ initiative and the long-term expansion of its advertiser customer base,” Blackledge wrote in a note on Monday. However, the stock price has been struggling for many years. Since its peak in 2021, Pinterest has fallen nearly 75%. It’s down 41% over the past 12 months. But stocks managed to regain some ground. It’s up more than 13% this quarter and more than 3% in the last month, outpacing the S&P 500’s 3% decline. The bullish case for acquiring Blackledge cites four reasons why he thinks Pinterest is well-positioned: Performance+ Adoption Rate: Performance+ (Pinterest’s AI-driven ad suite) is a big driver of advertiser growth, with management saying 30% of lower-funnel revenue comes from Performance+ Solid user growth: Monthly active users were 11% year-over-year in Q1 The number of people increased to 631 million. Better ad measurement: Pinterest continues to provide advertisers with better measurement and optimization improvements, allowing them to more effectively measure performance and adjust their campaigns. Acquisition of tvScientific: Pinterest’s acquisition of tvScientific gives advertisers access to a connected TV streaming audience, diversifying revenue channels and driving long-term revenue growth. Blackledge reiterated that Pinterest is a unique destination for consumers with its visual search engine, and consumers are likely to continue engaging with the platform. Other analysts seem to agree that Pinterest has growth potential. Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein said that while factors such as tariffs, inflation and lower consumer spending are impacting Pinterest’s biggest advertisers and are hurting revenue, he expects those factors to be temporary and to resolve quickly. A total of 19 analysts recommend the stock as a buy, according to LSEG. These include Guggenheim and Mizuho. However, the remaining 20 people rate the stock as a hold, with some pointing out that there are still many hurdles for the company to feel comfortable recommending it to customers. Rothschild analyst Joseph Barker gave the stock a neutral rating, citing changes in the digital advertising landscape. Barker said the rise of AI has made large platforms like Instagram overvalued, while smaller platforms struggle to capture direct response ads. While other platforms are looking to diversify their revenue through subscriptions, Pinterest remains completely reliant on ad revenue. “We believe the advertising business needs a change of direction and requires more dramatic action on costs. There are also structural concerns that Pinterest has the least potential for revenue diversification of the three second-tier ad platforms, so we downgrade it to neutral,” Barker said in an April report. Barker noted that other social media companies such as Reddit and Snapchat face similar issues, but Pinterest is the most vulnerable because it lacks monetizable features beyond traditional advertising. Still, TD’s Blackledge believes Pinterest is “well positioned as a unique destination for visual search, discovery, and inspiration, with significant potential monetization benefits and a growing, engaged user base.”
