Taboola.com (NASDAQ:TBLA) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Taboola.com (NASDAQ:TBLA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 32.89% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JMP Securities reduced their price target on shares of Taboola.com from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Taboola.com in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. B. Riley downgraded Taboola.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $5.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Taboola.com in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded Taboola.com from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Taboola.com has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.50.

Taboola.com Stock Performance

TBLA stock opened at $3.01 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.49. Taboola.com has a 12-month low of $2.69 and a 12-month high of $4.60. The firm has a market cap of $886.94 million, a P/E ratio of -30.10 and a beta of 1.33. 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 of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 22.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Taboola.com

In other news, CEO Adam Singolda purchased 60,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.72 per share, with a total value of $163,822.88. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 14,462,943 shares in the company, valued at $39,339,204.96. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Zvi Limon purchased 168,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2.93 per share, with a total value of $493,722.58. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 insiders.

Institutional Trading of Taboola.com

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Taboola.com by 54.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 727,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 257,009 shares in the last quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Taboola.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,724,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Taboola.com by 410.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 512,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 412,042 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Taboola.com by 22.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 33,668 shares in the last quarter. 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.