Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.80.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Criteo from $48.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Criteo from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Criteo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Criteo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Criteo from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Criteo Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of CRTO opened at $28.06 on Friday. Criteo has a fifty-two week low of $27.74 and a fifty-two week high of $49.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 0.74.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Criteo will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian Gleason sold 1,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.08, for a total transaction of $73,265.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 137,161 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,090.88. This trade represents a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Megan Clarken sold 7,481 shares of Criteo stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.51, for a total transaction of $332,979.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,346,334.52. This trade represents a 1.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,363 shares of company stock valued at $1,124,213 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Criteo

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRTO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Criteo by 80.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 48,395 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 21,509 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Criteo by 263.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 20,786 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 15,067 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Criteo by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 337,880 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $13,596,000 after purchasing an additional 80,424 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Criteo by 40.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Criteo by 681.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 22,500 shares during the last quarter. 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.