Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.75.

YELP has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on Yelp from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 8th. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Yelp in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total transaction of $232,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 312,502 shares in the company, valued at $12,134,452.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total transaction of $232,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 312,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,134,452.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.40, for a total value of $119,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 194,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,460,092.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,750 shares of company stock worth $620,830. 7.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 2,835 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Heron Bay Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 14,506 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 14,121 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 3.6% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,679 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 96.6% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 755 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yelp Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE YELP opened at $40.93 on Thursday. Yelp has a twelve month low of $26.53 and a twelve month high of $48.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.21 and its 200 day moving average is $42.74.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The local business review company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.37. Yelp had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $342.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

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.