Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Given New $25.00 Price Target at Benchmark

Key Points

• Benchmark cuts target but keeps buy: Benchmark lowered Criteo's price target from $30 to $25 while retaining a "buy" rating, implying roughly 52% upside from the prior close.
• Q1 beat but weak guidance: Criteo beat Q1 estimates with $0.73 EPS, repurchased $31M and reported Activated Media Spend > $1B, yet management guided Q2 revenue of $260–$264M versus a ~$287M consensus, creating near‑term headwinds.
• Mixed analyst view and concentrated ownership: The consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $28.39 (five Buys, three Holds, one Sell), and institutions own about 94% of the stock.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Benchmark from $30.00 to $25.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the information services provider's stock. Benchmark's target price would indicate a potential upside of 52.36% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CRTO. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $43.00 price target on Criteo in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Criteo from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Criteo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Criteo from $34.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Criteo in a report on Monday, April 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Criteo currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.39.

Criteo Price Performance

CRTO traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $16.41. 83,664 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 467,901. Criteo has a 1-year low of $15.57 and a 1-year high of $30.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $818.15 million, a PE ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.34. The business's 50-day moving average price is $18.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.52.

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 for the quarter. Criteo had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 17.15%. The business had revenue of $424.64 million during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Criteo will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Criteo

In other Criteo news, Director Der Kooi Frederik Van acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.81 per share, with a total value of $89,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,746. This trade represents a 23.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Criteo

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRTO. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Criteo in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Criteo by 125.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,763 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Criteo by 1,376.7% during the first 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. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Criteo by 142.3% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. 94.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Criteo

Here are the key news stories impacting Criteo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat estimates: Criteo reported $0.73 EPS (above consensus) and provided robust disclosure (slides/transcript); the beat and the published materials helped calm investors after the print. CRITEO Q1 Earnings / Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Company deployed $31M to repurchase shares in Q1 and reported that Activated Media Spend surpassed $1 billion — a tangible capital return and scale metric that investors often view positively. CRITEO REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2026 RESULTS
• Neutral Sentiment: Criteo and dentsu are testing an AI‑driven campaign pilot — a strategic partnership that could boost future product differentiation but is early-stage and not an immediate revenue driver. Criteo et dentsu testent première campagne pilotée par IA
• Negative Sentiment: Management issued weak Q2 revenue guidance of $260.0M–$264.0M versus a ~$287M consensus, creating a clear near‑term earnings headwind and pressuring the stock. Guidance / Market Data
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo downgraded CRTO from Overweight to Equal Weight, reducing a prior buy-side recommendation and likely contributing to selling pressure from services/quant funds. Criteo Downgraded to Equal Weight Rating by Wells Fargo & Company
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary highlights retail‑media softness and a “shock” share drop; analysts and trade press warn Criteo needs agentic‑AI ad revenue to materialize before headwinds abate, keeping sentiment pressured. Criteo shares slide as retail media weakness, soft outlook weigh Criteo Shock Drop Grabs Attention on Nasdaq Index Criteo Faces Tough Headwinds Until Agentic AI Ad Revenue Materializes

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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