Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Stock Price Target Cut by Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut Criteo’s price target from $25 to $20 and maintained an “equal weight” rating, implying about 15% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: MarketBeat’s consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $20.85; six analysts rate the stock Buy, four Hold, and two Sell.
• Criteo reported quarterly EPS of $0.43, below the $0.57 consensus, while revenue of $240.36 million slightly exceeded estimates and fell 16.7% year over year.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $25.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the information services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 15.34% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CRTO. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Criteo from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $20.50 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Criteo from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Criteo from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Criteo from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Criteo from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.85.

Criteo Trading Up 4.4%

NASDAQ:CRTO traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $17.34. 288,255 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 422,399. The stock has a market capitalization of $849.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.35. Criteo has a one year low of $13.95 and a one year high of $25.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.97.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The information services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $240.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.18 million. Criteo had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 10.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Criteo will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Komasinski sold 1,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.28, for a total value of $28,615.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 343,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,942,436.48. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 2,855 shares of company stock worth $48,898 over the last three months. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Criteo

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRTO. WealthCollab LLC boosted its position in shares of Criteo by 147.5% during the first quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Criteo by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Criteo in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Criteo by 357.9% in the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.27% of the company's stock.

About Criteo

Criteo SA NASDAQ: CRTO is a global commerce media and advertising technology company headquartered in Paris, France. The company helps brands, retailers and other businesses use commerce data and artificial intelligence to reach consumers, build customer relationships and measure advertising performance across digital channels.

Criteo's offerings include retail media solutions, which enable retailers and marketplace operators to provide sponsored product listings and other advertising placements, as well as performance media tools for campaigns across websites, mobile applications and the open internet.

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