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

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.17.

Several research analysts have recently commented on YELP shares. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th.

Yelp Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of YELP opened at $34.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.62. Yelp has a 12-month low of $32.56 and a 12-month high of $41.72.

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

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 21,989 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total value of $785,007.30. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 153,159 shares in the company, valued at $5,467,776.30. The trade was a 12.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.99, for a total value of $37,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 183,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,973,368.42. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,256 shares of company stock worth $2,047,609 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,815 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Yelp by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,030 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,767 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 60,697 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,349,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.