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

Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $38.40, but opened at $46.50. Criteo shares last traded at $45.79, with a volume of 178,004 shares.

The information services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Criteo had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 4.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on CRTO shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Criteo from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised Criteo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Criteo from $58.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Criteo from $50.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Criteo in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.89.

Insider Activity

In other Criteo news, insider Ryan Damon sold 2,793 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total transaction of $118,814.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 115,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,580.84. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Gleason sold 3,135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.95, for a total value of $115,838.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,139,190.75. This trade represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,541 shares of company stock valued at $860,406 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Criteo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Criteo by 230.1% in the third quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 2,519,864 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $101,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756,507 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in Criteo during the third quarter valued at $48,653,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in shares of Criteo by 42.0% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,853,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $74,567,000 after acquiring an additional 547,718 shares during the period. Senvest Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Criteo by 19.6% during the third quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,895,784 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $116,526,000 after purchasing an additional 475,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Criteo during the third quarter worth about $6,676,000. 94.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Criteo Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.02 and its 200-day moving average is $41.54.

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.