Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives $37.17 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.17.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on YELP shares. StockNews.com raised Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th.

Yelp Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of YELP stock opened at $34.27 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.65. Yelp has a 12-month low of $32.56 and a 12-month high of $41.72. The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.33.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.09. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. The company had revenue of $361.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $350.73 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yelp will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total transaction of $38,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,010,227.20. This represents a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $397,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 201,988 shares in the company, valued at $8,022,963.36. This trade represents a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,256 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,609 in the last three months. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 87.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Yelp by 168.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,131 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 12,008 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Yelp by 113.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,221 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Yelp by 98.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 9,073.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,385 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,359 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

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.