Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives $37.20 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.20.

YELP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Monday, September 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of YELP opened at $35.07 on Thursday. Yelp has a 1-year low of $32.56 and a 1-year high of $48.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.73.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.27. Yelp had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $357.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other Yelp news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total transaction of $232,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 281,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,371,246.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $377,160.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 145,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,080,985. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total value of $232,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 281,842 shares in the company, valued at $9,371,246.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,776 shares of company stock worth $863,590. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Yelp in the second quarter worth about $499,000. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Yelp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $370,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 153.4% in the 2nd 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 period. Capital Impact Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 42.9% during the second quarter. Capital Impact Advisors LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 7,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 11.0% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 189,864 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $7,015,000 after purchasing an additional 18,786 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

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.