Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating 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 stock from $46.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Yelp Stock Performance

NYSE YELP traded up $1.63 on Monday, reaching $37.56. 1,033,488 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 727,564. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.68. Yelp has a fifty-two week low of $32.56 and a fifty-two week high of $48.99.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.27. Yelp had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The company had revenue of $357.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $238,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 255,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,083.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $377,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 145,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,080,985. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $238,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 255,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,083.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Fifth Third Bancorp increased 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 period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Yelp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 98.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.