By Jaspreet Singh

(Reuters) - Pinterest's shares rose 20% on Friday as it forecast first-quarter revenue above estimates, indicating that its AI-powered tools would spur ad spend on the image sharing platform.

Pinterest has focused on direct response ads, designed to prompt specific actions like app downloads or website visits.

Investments in AI tools such as its Performance+ suite for improving targeting of ads with automation are also helping Pinterest. CEO Bill Ready said advertisers that were using these tools required 50% fewer inputs to create a campaign now.

"If you're a smaller ad platform, the less time and more automated you can make it for the advertisers, the easier it is to get them to try you out," Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik said.

"We think the progress Pinterest has shown is sustainable."

The social media firm also posted record revenue in the fourth quarter as strength in advertising from retail, technology and financial services sectors offset the ongoing weakness in marketing spend from food and beverage.

At least 27 brokerages raised their price target on Pinterest after its latest earnings report.

The company is set to add more than $4 billion in its market value if gains hold. As of last close, it had a market valuation of $22.70 billion.

Pinterest's shares often react wildly after its earnings reports. They dropped 14% after the company's weak holiday quarter forecast in November, but the stock rose 21% a day after it reported first quarter results in April last year.

The company's first-quarter revenue forecast of $837 million to $852 million was above analysts' average estimate of $832.8 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Its adjusted core earnings forecast of $155 million to $170 million was also ahead of analysts' estimates.

In the fourth quarter, revenue of $1.15 billion was slightly ahead of estimates. Global monthly active users were 553 million.

Pinterest currently trades at 17.88 times the estimates of its earnings for the next 12 months, compared with 27.37 times for Meta and Snap's 25.40 times.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)