Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on CRTO. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Criteo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price target (up from $59.00) on shares of Criteo in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Criteo from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Criteo from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Criteo from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Criteo currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.90.

Criteo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CRTO traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $37.35. The stock had a trading volume of 351,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,587. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.11. Criteo has a 52 week low of $32.45 and a 52 week high of $49.93.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Criteo had a return on equity of 16.37% and a net margin of 5.08%. As a group, analysts expect that Criteo will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Criteo

In other news, CEO Megan Clarken sold 13,823 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.56, for a total transaction of $602,129.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 488,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,267,255.24. This represents a 2.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian Gleason sold 3,135 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.95, for a total value of $115,838.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 139,085 shares in the company, valued at $5,139,190.75. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,156 shares of company stock worth $1,243,028. 1.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Criteo

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Criteo in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in Criteo in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Criteo by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,192 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Criteo during the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in Criteo during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. Institutional investors own 94.27% of the company’s stock.

About Criteo

Criteo SA, a technology company, provides marketing and monetization services on the open Internet in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company's Criteo Shopper Graph, which derives clients' proprietary commerce data, such as transaction activity on their digital properties.