KeyBanc Endorses Pinterest, Disney's CEO Transition - Key Takeaways

KeyBanc hailed the CEO successions in two significant companies citing different reasons.

Pinterest, Inc PINS announced that Co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann would transition from his current role to the newly created Executive Chair position. 

Incoming CEO Bill Ready served as President of Commerce, Payments, and Next Billion Users at Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google. Previously, Ready served as COO at PayPal Holdings, Inc PYPL. 

KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson expects Pinterest's CEO transition will be a positive catalyst given incoming CEO Ready's visibility and experience in commerce roles. 

Under Ready's leadership, Google made numerous innovations around the Shopping experience in Search. He believes Pinterest's Search and Shopping experiences are primed for improvement and expect Ready to drive innovation and bolster sentiment. 

He rated Pinterest Overweight with a price target of $36.

Walt Disney Company's DIS board unanimously voted to renew CEO Bob Chapek's contract for three additional years, beginning July 1. 

KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel saw the move as positive for the stock, given that conversations with investors around who could succeed Chapek in case of a non-renewal early next year became a common occurrence. 

From Brandon's perspective, Chapek's contract renewal provides continuity for the company, hopefully lifting one of the many overhangs on the stock. He rated Disney Overweight with a price target of $151.

Price Actions: PINS shares traded higher by 0.03% at $19.71 on the last check Wednesday. DIS shares traded lower by 0.24% at $95.69.

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