Voya Investment Management LLC Buys 16,333 Shares of Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:TBLA)

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:TBLA) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,054 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,333 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Taboola.com were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Taboola.com by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 727,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 257,009 shares in the last quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Taboola.com during the fourth quarter worth about $1,724,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 412,042 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Taboola.com by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 55,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 21,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Taboola.com in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $81,000. 42.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Taboola.com Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TBLA opened at $3.34 on Friday. Taboola.com Ltd. has a 52-week low of $2.50 and a 52-week high of $4.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.40 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.38.

Taboola.com announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 22.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TBLA shares. B. Riley upgraded shares of Taboola.com from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Taboola.com in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JMP Securities decreased their price objective on Taboola.com from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Taboola.com in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Adam Singolda purchased 60,229 shares of Taboola.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2.72 per share, for a total transaction of $163,822.88. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,462,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,339,204.96. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Zvi Limon acquired 168,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $2.93 per share, for a total transaction of $493,722.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,987,383 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 24.70% of the company’s stock.

Taboola.com 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.