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

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

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

Yelp Stock Down 1.4 %

YELP stock opened at $38.49 on Friday. Yelp has a 52 week low of $32.56 and a 52 week high of $45.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 201,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,022,963.36. This trade represents a 4.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 12,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.17, for a total transaction of $490,637.18. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,813 shares in the company, valued at $3,389,992.21. This trade represents a 12.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,734,268. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YELP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Yelp by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 567,567 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $20,972,000 after buying an additional 6,682 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 136.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 5,210 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,253 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 1,722 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Yelp by 79.7% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 56,800 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,099,000 after buying an additional 25,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 308,459 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $11,398,000 after buying an additional 86,836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.