Taboola.com (NASDAQ:TBLA) Receives “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Taboola.com (NASDAQ:TBLA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Benchmark in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4.50 price target on the stock. Benchmark’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 46.82% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. B. Riley lowered Taboola.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $5.00 to $4.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Taboola.com from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Taboola.com in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Taboola.com in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities dropped their price target on shares of Taboola.com from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.38.

Taboola.com Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ TBLA traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3.07. The company had a trading volume of 203,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,127,350. Taboola.com has a 52 week low of $2.69 and a 52 week high of $4.60. The stock has a market cap of $903.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.65 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3.42 and its 200-day moving average is $3.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Taboola.com declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 22.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Taboola.com

In related news, CEO Adam Singolda acquired 60,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.72 per share, for a total transaction of $163,822.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,462,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,339,204.96. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Zvi Limon bought 168,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $2.93 per share, for a total transaction of $493,722.58. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,987,383 shares in the company, valued at $8,753,032.19. The trade was a 5.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 22.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Taboola.com

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Taboola.com by 54.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 727,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 257,009 shares during the period. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. bought a new position in Taboola.com during the 4th quarter valued at $1,724,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Taboola.com by 410.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 512,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after acquiring an additional 412,042 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Taboola.com by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 33,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Taboola.com by 1,218.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 33,668 shares during the period. 42.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Taboola.com Company Profile

Taboola.com Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates an artificial intelligence-based algorithmic engine platform in Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It offers Taboola, a platform that partners with websites, devices, and mobile apps to recommend editorial content and advertisements on the open web to users.