Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) shares experienced a significant jump, opening at $26.53 after closing at $22.81, but later traded at $23.59 with a volume of 239,347 shares.
• Recent research reports indicate a mixed outlook for Criteo, with target prices decreasing from several firms; however, the average analyst rating remains a "Moderate Buy" with a target of $42.70.
• Criteo reported a strong quarterly performance with an EPS of $1.10, surpassing estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.9% to $451.43 million.

Shares of Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $22.81, but opened at $26.53. Criteo shares last traded at $23.59, with a volume of 239,347 shares traded.

The information services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.22. Criteo had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 7.10%. The firm had revenue of $292.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRTO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Criteo from $50.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Criteo from $54.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Criteo from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Criteo from $39.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Criteo from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sarah Js Glickman sold 2,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $63,621.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 362,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,361,545.10. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Damon sold 2,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $55,026.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 132,002 shares in the company, valued at $3,406,971.62. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,708 shares of company stock valued at $320,444. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Criteo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Criteo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,224,000. VELA Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Criteo by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 351,940 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $8,432,000 after purchasing an additional 163,196 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Criteo by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,878 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Criteo by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 38,594 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Criteo by 1,376.7% during 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. 94.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Criteo Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.43.

Criteo Company Profile

Criteo SA, a technology company, provides marketing and monetization services on the open Internet in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company's Criteo Shopper Graph, which derives clients' proprietary commerce data, such as transaction activity on their digital properties.