Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives $37.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

Several research firms have issued reports on YELP. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America began coverage on Yelp in a report on Monday, September 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $46.00 to $38.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.72, for a total transaction of $397,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 201,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,022,963.36. The trade was a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 183,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,973,368.42. This represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,734,268. 7.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Yelp by 54.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 115.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 976 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 98.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in Yelp by 153.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,323 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yelp Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:YELP opened at $40.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.89. Yelp has a twelve month low of $32.56 and a twelve month high of $46.07. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.34.

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.