Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives $37.17 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.17.

Separately, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Yelp Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of YELP stock opened at $38.41 on Thursday. Yelp has a 12-month low of $32.56 and a 12-month high of $41.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $37.38 and its 200 day moving average is $36.76.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.09. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm had revenue of $361.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $350.73 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Yelp will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total transaction of $36,340.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 223,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,122,426.08. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.51, for a total value of $395,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 191,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,585,445.88. The trade was a 4.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,727 shares of company stock worth $2,081,667. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp in the fourth quarter worth about $4,368,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 97,963 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $3,791,000 after acquiring an additional 35,642 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yelp in the fourth quarter valued at $236,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in Yelp in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

About Yelp

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.