Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $5.64 Million Stock Position in Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:TBLA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:TBLA) by 40.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,546,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 443,700 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Taboola.com were worth $5,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 63,324 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 257,009 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 412,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Taboola.com during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,724,000. 42.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Zvi Limon bought 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 completion of the transaction, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Adam Singolda bought 60,229 shares of Taboola.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.72 per share, for a total transaction of $163,822.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,462,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,339,204.96. The trade was a 0.42 % 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.

Taboola.com Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TBLA opened at $2.78 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Taboola.com Ltd. has a 1 year low of $2.50 and a 1 year high of $4.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $819.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.80 and a beta of 1.21.

Taboola.com announced that its board has approved a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on TBLA. JMP Securities dropped their price target 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. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Taboola.com in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Taboola.com in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.50 price target on shares of Taboola.com in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, B. Riley lowered Taboola.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $5.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.