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

Taboola.com (NASDAQ:TBLA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4.50 price target on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 52.03% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Taboola.com in a research report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp lowered Taboola.com from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. B. Riley cut Taboola.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $5.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Taboola.com in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JMP Securities cut 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Taboola.com has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.38.

Taboola.com Price Performance

Shares of TBLA stock opened at $2.96 on Thursday. Taboola.com has a 12 month low of $2.69 and a 12 month high of $4.60. The company has a market capitalization of $872.21 million, a P/E ratio of -29.60 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.48. 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 repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 22.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Taboola.com news, CEO Adam Singolda bought 60,229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Zvi Limon purchased 168,506 shares of Taboola.com stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.93 per share, with a total value of $493,722.58. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,987,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,753,032.19. This trade represents a 5.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taboola.com

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolverine Trading LLC boosted 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. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Taboola.com in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Taboola.com in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Taboola.com during the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Taboola.com during the 4th quarter worth approximately $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.