Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.17.

Several research firms have weighed in on YELP. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total value of $38,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 182,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,010,227.20. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.51, for a total value of $395,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 191,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,585,445.88. This trade represents a 4.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,865 shares of company stock valued at $2,167,768. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Yelp by 54.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Yelp by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,094 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Yelp by 115.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 976 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Yelp by 98.5% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Yelp by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of Yelp stock opened at $41.22 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.93 and a 200 day moving average of $36.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.34. Yelp has a fifty-two week low of $32.56 and a fifty-two week high of $45.91.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The local business review company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.16. Yelp had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 16.02%. The business had revenue of $360.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.74 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Analysts forecast that Yelp will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

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.