Morgan Stanley Lowers Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Price Target to $25.00

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $29.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 44.18% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Criteo from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Criteo in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets set a $20.00 target price on Criteo in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of Criteo in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Criteo from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Criteo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.15.

Criteo Stock Up 1.7%

CRTO traded up $0.29 on Thursday, reaching $17.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 418,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 457,194. The company has a market capitalization of $871.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 0.29. Criteo has a fifty-two week low of $15.57 and a fifty-two week high of $25.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.77.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The information services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $428.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.57 million. Criteo had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company’s revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Criteo will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Criteo

In other Criteo news, CFO Sarah Js Glickman sold 2,465 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.06, for a total transaction of $42,052.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 431,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,367,855.74. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Criteo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRTO. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Criteo by 7.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Criteo by 145.0% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 432,881 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,372,000 after acquiring an additional 256,227 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings 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 worth $206,000 after buying an additional 2,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Criteo by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,411,988 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $105,711,000 after buying an additional 82,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.27% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Criteo

Here are the key news stories impacting Criteo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Criteo reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.80 per share, beating the $0.72 consensus estimate. The company also deployed $30 million for share repurchases during the quarter, supporting shareholder returns. Criteo Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark lowered its price target from $25 to $21 but maintained a Buy rating, implying roughly 21% upside based on the referenced share price. The reduced target reflects more cautious expectations rather than a change to the firm’s bullish rating. Benchmark Price Target Update
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted momentum in artificial-intelligence initiatives, which could support longer-term growth and improve Criteo’s advertising platform competitiveness. The company also canceled 4.5 million treasury shares, reducing share capital and potentially improving per-share metrics. Criteo CFO and Treasury Share Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Criteo appointed Connor McGogney as chief financial officer effective August 10, with current CFO Sarah Glickman moving to an advisory role. The leadership transition may add execution risk, although continuity is supported by Glickman’s ongoing involvement. Criteo Appoints Connor McGogney as CFO
• Neutral Sentiment: Criteo announced plans for a cross-border merger into a U.S. holding company. The restructuring could simplify the corporate structure, but investors will likely assess its tax, governance and implementation implications. Criteo Cross-Border Merger Plan
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $237 million to $241 million is well below the $279.6 million analyst consensus. Full-year 2026 revenue guidance of approximately $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion also trails expectations near $1.1 billion, signaling weaker near-term demand. Criteo 2026 Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects 2026 contribution ex-TAC to decline 10% to 12%, assuming no recovery in large-client spending. Second-quarter revenue fell 11.3% year over year and EPS declined from $0.92 a year earlier, reinforcing concerns that the earnings beat may not be durable. Criteo Weak Outlook

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.