Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to “Neutral”

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Yelp (NYSE:YELP) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $38.00 target price on the local business review company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $46.00.

YELP has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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 company an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Yelp from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Yelp in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Yelp in a report on Monday, September 16th. They issued an underperform rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.33.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YELP opened at $34.45 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.33. Yelp has a 1 year low of $32.56 and a 1 year high of $48.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.44.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.27. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm had revenue of $357.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yelp news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 145,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,080,985. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Yelp news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $238,140.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 255,558 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,083.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $377,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,080,985. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,776 shares of company stock valued at $848,050 in the last ninety days. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YELP. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Yelp by 1,089.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 188,371 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $6,960,000 after buying an additional 172,531 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Yelp by 4.3% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,695,536 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $99,600,000 after buying an additional 111,936 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Yelp by 159.4% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 169,786 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $6,274,000 after purchasing an additional 104,330 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Yelp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,861,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in Yelp by 39.2% in the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 308,459 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $11,398,000 after purchasing an additional 86,836 shares in the last quarter. 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.