Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO) gapped up prior to trading on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $14.89, but opened at $15.74. Criteo shares last traded at $15.6880, with a volume of 3,204 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRTO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Criteo from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Criteo in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Criteo from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $20.50 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Criteo in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Criteo from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.65.

Criteo Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $761.02 million, a PE ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.29.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The information services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $428.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.40 million. Criteo had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 14.33%. Criteo’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Criteo S.A. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ryan Damon sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $106,446.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 167,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,590.95. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Sarah Glickman sold 6,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $108,290.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 424,612 shares in the company, valued at $7,316,064.76. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,725 shares of company stock worth $529,527. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Criteo

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRTO. WealthCollab LLC raised its position in shares of Criteo by 147.5% in the first quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Criteo by 185.8% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,446 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Criteo by 61.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Criteo in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Criteo by 357.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,126 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.27% of the company’s stock.

Criteo Company Profile

Criteo SA is a global commerce media company headquartered in Paris, France. The company provides technology that helps advertisers, retailers and publishers connect with consumers and measure the impact of digital marketing campaigns across the commerce journey.

Criteo’s platform supports retail media and performance marketing activities, including sponsored product placements, display and video advertising, audience activation, customer acquisition and campaign measurement. Its solutions are designed to use commerce data and artificial intelligence to help brands reach relevant audiences, while enabling retailers and publishers to generate advertising revenue.

Founded in 2005 by Jean-Baptiste Rudelle, Franck Le Ouay and Romain Niccoli, Criteo serves clients across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.