Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Yelp (NYSE:YELP) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $38.00 price objective on the local business review company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $46.00.

YELP has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Yelp in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Yelp in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.33.

Yelp Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:YELP opened at $34.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.39. Yelp has a 12 month low of $32.56 and a 12 month high of $48.99.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $357.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.98 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 10.01%. Yelp’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Yelp will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 281,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,371,246.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 281,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,371,246.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $377,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 145,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,080,985. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,776 shares of company stock worth $848,050. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yelp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Yelp by 262.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 664 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yelp in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Yelp by 115.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 976 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by 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.