Brokerages Set Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Price Target at $37.17

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

YELP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 21,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total value of $785,007.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 153,159 shares in the company, valued at $5,467,776.30. The trade was a 12.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.72, for a total value of $397,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,988 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,256 shares of company stock worth $2,120,559. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Yelp by 82.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 1,963.6% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 908 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 98.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,094 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Yelp during the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:YELP opened at $34.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.33. Yelp has a 1-year low of $32.56 and a 1-year high of $41.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.00 and its 200-day moving average is $36.65.

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

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.