Taboola.com (NASDAQ:TBLA) Stock Price Up 6.3% on Insider Buying Activity

Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:TBLA)’s stock price rose 6.3% during trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $2.95 and last traded at $2.90. Approximately 5,916,297 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 336% from the average daily volume of 1,355,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.73.

Specifically, CEO Adam Singolda bought 60,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.72 per share, for a total transaction of $163,822.88. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 14,462,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,339,204.96. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Zvi Limon purchased 168,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.93 per share, for a total transaction of $493,722.58. Following the purchase, 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Taboola.com from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Taboola.com in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Taboola.com from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Taboola.com in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, B. Riley cut Taboola.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $5.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Taboola.com presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.50.

Taboola.com Trading Up 6.0 %

The company has a market cap of $853.06 million, a P/E ratio of -28.95 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taboola.com

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TBLA. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,109,602 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. raised its position in shares of Taboola.com by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 7,397,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,002,000 after buying an additional 98,800 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Taboola.com by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,217,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,094,000 after buying an additional 665,944 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Taboola.com by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,546,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,644,000 after buying an additional 443,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Taboola.com by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,480,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,404,000 after acquiring an additional 63,324 shares during the period. 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.