Benchmark Reaffirms Buy Rating for Taboola.com (NASDAQ:TBLA)

Taboola.com (NASDAQ:TBLA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by investment analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $4.50 target price on the stock. Benchmark's price objective points to a potential upside of 50.75% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on TBLA. JMP Securities lowered their price objective 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. Citizens Jmp cut Taboola.com from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. B. Riley cut Taboola.com from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $5.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Taboola.com in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Taboola.com in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Taboola.com currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4.38.

Taboola.com Stock Performance

Shares of TBLA stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $2.99. The stock had a trading volume of 904,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,141,007. The stock's 50 day moving average is $3.39 and its 200 day moving average is $3.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $879.58 million, a PE ratio of -29.85 and a beta of 1.33. Taboola.com has a twelve month low of $2.69 and a twelve month high of $4.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Taboola.com declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 22.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Taboola.com

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

Institutional Trading of Taboola.com

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Taboola.com by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,205,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,102,000 after buying an additional 1,109,602 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Taboola.com by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 373,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 101,677 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC raised its holdings in Taboola.com by 98.4% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC now owns 17,063 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 8,463 shares during the last quarter. Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in Taboola.com during the fourth quarter worth $730,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Taboola.com by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 150,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 94,555 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.89% of the company's stock.

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.