Morgan Stanley Raises Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Price Target to $34.00

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $32.00 to $34.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the local business review company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Raymond James initiated coverage on Yelp in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a market perform rating for the company. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on Yelp from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $41.33.

Yelp Price Performance

NYSE:YELP opened at $36.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.20. Yelp has a 1 year low of $34.76 and a 1 year high of $48.99.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The local business review company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.16. Yelp had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The business had revenue of $332.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $333.66 million. As a group, analysts expect that Yelp will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 26,718 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.62, for a total transaction of $978,413.16. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 167,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,069.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Yelp news, insider Carmen Orr sold 14,984 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $569,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,180,418. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 26,718 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.62, for a total transaction of $978,413.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 167,861 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,069.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,068 shares of company stock worth $1,997,590. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yelp during the first quarter worth $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Yelp by 262.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 664 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Yelp during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Yelp in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Yelp by 4,634.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp Inc operates a platform that connects consumers with local businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's platform covers various categories, including restaurants, shopping, beauty and fitness, health, and other categories, as well as home, local, auto, professional, pets, events, real estate, and financial services.