Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Shares Up 8.6% - Still a Buy?

Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 8.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $32.85 and last traded at $32.15. Approximately 262,597 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 428,616 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRTO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Criteo from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Criteo from $61.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Criteo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Criteo from $48.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Criteo from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.64.

Criteo Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $34.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 0.74.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Criteo had a return on equity of 16.37% and a net margin of 5.08%. On average, analysts forecast that Criteo S.A. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Criteo

In related news, insider Brian Gleason sold 1,924 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.08, for a total transaction of $73,265.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 137,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,223,090.88. The trade was a 1.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Megan Clarken sold 13,823 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.56, for a total value of $602,129.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,229 shares in the company, valued at $21,267,255.24. This represents a 2.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,363 shares of company stock worth $1,124,213. 1.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Criteo

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRTO. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Criteo by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 49,161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Criteo by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,143 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Criteo by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,174 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Criteo by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,520 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Criteo during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. 94.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Criteo

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.