200,000 Shares in Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:TBLA) Purchased by Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd

Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:TBLA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 200,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $730,000. Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd owned 0.07% of Taboola.com at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Taboola.com by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 727,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 257,009 shares during the period. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Taboola.com during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,724,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Taboola.com by 410.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Taboola.com by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 55,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 21,281 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Taboola.com during the 4th quarter valued at about $81,000. 42.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Zvi Limon acquired 168,506 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2.93 per share, with a total value of $493,722.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,987,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,753,032.19. This trade represents a 5.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam Singolda acquired 60,229 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought 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. This trade represents a 0.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 24.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TBLA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Taboola.com in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Taboola.com in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Taboola.com from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. B. Riley raised shares of Taboola.com from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Taboola.com from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Taboola.com has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $4.25.

Taboola.com Price Performance

Shares of Taboola.com stock remained flat at $3.46 on Friday. 1,320,759 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,299,371. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.60 and a beta of 1.21. Taboola.com Ltd. has a 12 month low of $2.50 and a 12 month high of $4.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.38.

Taboola.com declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 22.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.