Yelp (NYSE:YELP – Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.
Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Yelp in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Yelp from $24.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Yelp in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.57.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Yelp
Yelp Stock Performance
Shares of YELP opened at $18.41 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $998.78 million, a P/E ratio of 8.81, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.84. Yelp has a 12-month low of $17.26 and a 12-month high of $34.49.
Yelp (NYSE:YELP – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $375.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.89 million. Yelp had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Yelp will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In other Yelp news, CTO Alexander Coleman Levy sold 3,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total transaction of $89,598.60. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 54,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,266,501.60. This trade represents a 6.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 8,809 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total transaction of $204,280.71. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 180,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,006.54. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 28,638 shares of company stock valued at $614,249 in the last three months. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Yelp during the third quarter worth about $8,951,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,683,927 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $66,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,261 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 192.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 367,028 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $9,080,000 after purchasing an additional 241,656 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 73.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 562,739 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $13,922,000 after purchasing an additional 238,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Yelp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,028,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company’s stock.
Yelp Company Profile
Yelp Inc operates an online platform that helps consumers discover and evaluate local businesses. Through its website and mobile applications, Yelp provides business listings, user-generated reviews, ratings, photos and other information across categories such as restaurants, home services, beauty and fitness, automotive, health and professional services.
The company generates revenue primarily by providing businesses with advertising and marketing solutions designed to increase their visibility and connect them with potential customers.
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