Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Yelp from “hold” to “strong buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with a $25.57 target price.
• Yelp’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, reporting $0.57 EPS versus the $0.36 consensus and $375.52 million in revenue, up 1.4% year over year.
• The stock opened at $18.41, near its one-year low of $17.26, while institutional investors own approximately 90.11% of outstanding shares; recent insider sales were conducted under pre-arranged plans to cover tax obligations.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on YELP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday, September 11th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Yelp in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Yelp from $24.00 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.57.

Yelp Stock Performance

NYSE:YELP opened at $18.41 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.32 and a 200 day moving average of $23.84. The company has a market capitalization of $998.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.45. Yelp has a 1-year low of $17.26 and a 1-year high of $34.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $375.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.89 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 8.59%. Yelp's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Yelp will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 8,809 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total value of $204,280.71. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 180,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,185,006.54. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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, CTO Alexander Coleman Levy sold 3,829 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,266,501.60. The trade was a 6.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders sold 28,638 shares of company stock worth $614,249 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Yelp by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,683,927 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $66,402,000 after buying an additional 457,261 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Yelp by 73.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 562,739 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $13,922,000 after acquiring an additional 238,993 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Yelp by 39.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 522,004 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $12,914,000 after purchasing an additional 147,329 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in Yelp in the 3rd quarter worth $8,951,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 467,195 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $11,558,000 after purchasing an additional 66,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

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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