Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:TBLA)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:TBLA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Taboola.com by 54.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 727,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 257,009 shares in the last quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Taboola.com in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,724,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Taboola.com by 410.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 512,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 412,042 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Taboola.com by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 33,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 6,094 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Taboola.com by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 55,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 21,281 shares in the last quarter. 42.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Taboola.com Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TBLA opened at $2.95 on Tuesday. Taboola.com Ltd. has a 52-week low of $2.69 and a 52-week high of $4.60. 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 $869.26 million, a P/E ratio of -29.50 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.49.

Taboola.com announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 22.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Taboola.com

In related news, CEO Adam Singolda acquired 60,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.72 per share, for a total transaction of $163,822.88. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Zvi Limon acquired 168,506 shares of Taboola.com stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $2.93 per share, with a total value of $493,722.58. Following the acquisition, the director now 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on TBLA. B. Riley cut Taboola.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $5.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Taboola.com in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of Taboola.com from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.50 price target on shares of Taboola.com in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded Taboola.com from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Taboola.com has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.38.

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.