Benchmark Lowers Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Price Target to $21.00

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Benchmark from $25.00 to $21.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Benchmark’s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.25% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CRTO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Criteo in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $18.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of Criteo in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Criteo from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Criteo in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Criteo from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Six equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.15.

Criteo Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of CRTO stock opened at $18.38 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $900.62 million, a P/E ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.76. Criteo has a 52 week low of $15.57 and a 52 week high of $25.29.

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The information services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $428.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.40 million. Criteo had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 5.60%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Analysts expect that Criteo will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Criteo

In other news, insider Ryan Damon sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $106,446.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 167,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,590.95. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Sarah Js Glickman sold 6,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $108,290.55. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 424,612 shares in the company, valued at $7,316,064.76. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 30,487 shares of company stock valued at $524,872 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Criteo

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Criteo by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,723,794 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $97,357,000 after acquiring an additional 838,523 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Criteo by 226.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,097,465 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,803,000 after acquiring an additional 761,565 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Criteo during the third quarter valued at approximately $11,926,000. Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Criteo by 109.2% during the fourth quarter. Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC now owns 888,888 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $18,320,000 after acquiring an additional 463,929 shares during the period. Finally, Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC bought a new stake in Criteo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,486,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.27% of the company’s stock.

Criteo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Criteo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Criteo reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.80 per share, exceeding the $0.71 analyst consensus. Revenue was $428.0 million, also above estimates, although it declined 11.3% year over year.
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted continued momentum in artificial-intelligence initiatives during its earnings call, offering a potential long-term growth catalyst despite near-term revenue pressure. Criteo Earnings Call: AI Momentum Amid Revenue Headwinds
• Positive Sentiment: The company appointed Connor McGogney as chief financial officer and canceled 4.5 million treasury shares, reducing its share capital. The cancellation could support per-share value by lowering the share count. Criteo Appoints Connor McGogney as CFO and Cancels Treasury Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark lowered its price target from $25 to $21 but maintained a “buy” rating, implying meaningful potential upside from the current trading level.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its target from $29 to $25 and kept an “equal weight” rating. The revised target still indicates substantial upside, but the reduction reflects more cautious expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Michael Komasinski, CFO Sarah Js Glickman and insider Ryan Damon sold shares to cover tax-withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards. The transactions reduced their holdings but were not discretionary sales based on the filings.
• Negative Sentiment: Criteo forecast 2026 contribution ex-TAC to decline 10% to 12%, assuming no recovery in spending from large clients. This weak outlook overshadowed the earnings beat and remains the primary fundamental risk. Criteo Forecasts 2026 Contribution Ex-TAC Decline

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.