Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to "Equal Weight"

Key Points

• Criteo was downgraded by Wells Fargo from "overweight" to "equal weight" in a research note released Wednesday.
• The stock fell $4.50 to $15.63 in midday trading on Wednesday with about 1.05 million shares traded (well above its ~468k average) and is trading near its 52‑week low of $15.66.
• Analysts' views are mixed but the consensus is a "Hold" with an average price target of $30.72, well above the current share price.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Criteo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $43.00 price target on Criteo in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Criteo from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. DA Davidson set a $28.50 price objective on Criteo in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 target price on Criteo in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.72.

Criteo Price Performance

Criteo stock traded down $4.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $15.63. 1,047,080 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 468,215. The company has a market cap of $779.06 million, a PE ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.34. Criteo has a fifty-two week low of $15.66 and a fifty-two week high of $30.64. The company's fifty day moving average price is $18.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.55.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The information services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $424.64 million during the quarter. Criteo had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 17.15%. On average, analysts expect that Criteo will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Der Kooi Frederik Van acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.81 per share, with a total value of $89,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 26,600 shares in the company, valued at $473,746. This represents a 23.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Criteo

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Criteo by 1,376.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,270 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Criteo by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,313 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Criteo by 145.0% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 432,881 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,372,000 after purchasing an additional 256,227 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Criteo by 41.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,587 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Criteo by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,411,988 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $105,711,000 after buying an additional 82,134 shares in the last quarter. 94.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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