Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on YELP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Yelp in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $377,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares in the company, valued at $5,080,985. This represents a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 12,854 shares of the company’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 owns 88,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 30,630 shares of company stock worth $1,105,937. 7.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Yelp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,743,899 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $96,256,000 after purchasing an additional 48,363 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Yelp by 2.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,693,819 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $62,587,000 after purchasing an additional 33,046 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Yelp by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,174,607 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $41,205,000 after buying an additional 56,618 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Yelp by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 654,059 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $22,944,000 after buying an additional 78,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 0.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 586,820 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $21,683,000 after purchasing an additional 4,547 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of YELP stock opened at $36.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.54 and its 200-day moving average is $35.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.33. Yelp has a 52-week low of $32.56 and a 52-week high of $48.99.

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.