JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan cut its Yelp price target from $19 to $18 and maintained an “underweight” rating, implying 7.28% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: Yelp has a consensus “hold” rating and average price target of $25.14, while recent ratings range from strong buy to sell.
• Yelp beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.63 EPS versus $0.43 expected and $370.92 million in revenue; revenue nevertheless fell 1.4% year over year.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $19.00 to $18.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the local business review company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective indicates a potential downside of 7.28% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on YELP. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Yelp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Yelp in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Yelp in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Yelp from $24.00 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.14.

Yelp Stock Performance

NYSE:YELP opened at $19.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $19.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.52. Yelp has a 1-year low of $17.26 and a 1-year high of $34.49.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The local business review company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.20. Yelp had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The company had revenue of $370.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Yelp's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Yelp will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Alexander Coleman Levy sold 3,829 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total transaction of $89,598.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 54,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,266,501.60. The trade was a 6.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 165,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,309,320. This represents a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,638 shares of company stock worth $614,249. 8.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Yelp by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,158 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Yelp during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in Yelp during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Yelp during the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Essential Partners LLC raised its stake in Yelp by 225.9% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Yelp

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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