Pinterest dips, Alphabet and Vimeo gain amid Piper Sandler internet update

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) and IAC (IAC) were dipping Tuesday morning, and Vimeo (NASDAQ:VMEO) surging, alongside ratings changes from Piper Sandler in an update on internet stocks.

Meanwhile, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was notably higher as the firm reiterated its Overweight rating and named it its top mega-cap pick.

Pinterest (PINS) was off 4% as analyst Thomas Champion downgraded the stock to Neutral: “We move to the sidelines with this name following 2 quarters of mixed prints.”

After guidance for 15-17% growth in Q4, the company is unlikely to hit 20% growth for the full year, he noted, and it looks like low double-digit growth for Q1. “Our early read on Performance+ is mixed and our Ad Buyer Survey suggests a competitive SMID advertising field,” he added. Champion cut Pinterest’s (PINS) price target to $36.

As for IAC, down 2%, “the current asset configuration is not compelling,” he said, tweaking estimates down and downgrading to Neutral as he awaits the implications of spinning off Angi (ANGI).

Vimeo (VMEO) was 10% higher as the firm upgraded to Overweight and named it its top small-cap pick. “Management has spent the last two years resetting the cost structure. Low calorie marketing spend has been weeded out. At the same time, the Enterprise business has flourished and now at $100M-plus annual run rate, which will likely return the business to growth regardless of the outcome in Self-Serve,” Champion wrote.

As for Alphabet — (GOOG) +3.8%, (GOOGL) +3.9% — “Our recent surveys suggest GOOGL is headed for a product-driven resurgence,” Champion wrote. “Among ad buyers, 75% said AI tools were the most disruptive into next year and Gemini & PMax highlighted. Among CIOs, GCP was named the ‘most strategic’ AI vendor.”