Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Cut to "Strong Sell" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Criteo to “strong sell” from “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with an average price target of $22.65.
• Criteo shares opened at $17.30, near the lower end of their 12-month range, despite the company exceeding quarterly earnings expectations with $0.80 EPS versus $0.71 forecast. Revenue fell 11.3% year over year to $428.02 million.
• Institutional investors own 94.27% of Criteo, with several hedge funds increasing their positions; recent insider stock sales were made to cover tax obligations from vested equity awards.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $20.00 price objective on Criteo in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Criteo from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Criteo in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Criteo from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $20.50 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $18.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of Criteo in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.65.

Criteo Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Criteo stock opened at $17.30 on Monday. Criteo has a 12 month low of $15.57 and a 12 month high of $25.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $847.70 million, a P/E ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.60.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The information services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.09. Criteo had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 5.60%.The company had revenue of $428.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $263.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Criteo will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Criteo

In other news, CFO Sarah Js Glickman sold 6,285 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $108,290.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 424,612 shares in the company, valued at $7,316,064.76. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Ryan Damon sold 6,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,890,590.95. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,022 shares of company stock worth $482,819. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Criteo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Criteo by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,723,794 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $97,357,000 after buying an additional 838,523 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Criteo by 226.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,097,465 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $24,803,000 after purchasing an additional 761,565 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Criteo during the 3rd quarter worth about $11,926,000. Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Criteo by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC now owns 888,888 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $18,320,000 after buying an additional 463,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Criteo in the fourth quarter worth about $9,486,000. Institutional investors own 94.27% of the company's stock.

About Criteo

Criteo is a global technology company specializing in digital performance advertising and commerce media solutions. The company provides a range of AI-driven ad products designed to help brands, retailers, and agencies deliver personalized promotional messages to consumers across web, mobile, and connected TV environments. By leveraging large-scale data analytics and machine learning algorithms, Criteo's platform optimizes the timing, placement, and creative of ads to drive engagement and conversions.

At the core of Criteo's offering is its dynamic retargeting solution, which enables advertisers to automatically generate and display personalized product recommendations based on user behavior.

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