Bank of America Lowers Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Price Target to $30.00

Key Points

• Bank of America has decreased its price target for Yelp from $31.00 to $30.00, maintaining an "underperform" rating, indicating a potential downside of 12.95% from the current price.
• Multiple analysts, including Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co., have also lowered their price targets for Yelp, forecasting a consensus target price of $34.00.
• Yelp reported an EPS of $0.67 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with revenues of $370.39 million, reflecting a 3.7% increase compared to the prior year.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Bank of America from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underperform" rating on the local business review company's stock. Bank of America's price target suggests a potential downside of 3.26% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on YELP. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.00.

Yelp Price Performance

YELP traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 603,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 810,163. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $34.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.00. Yelp has a twelve month low of $29.96 and a twelve month high of $41.72.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The local business review company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.19. Yelp had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The firm had revenue of $370.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $365.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In related news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.68, for a total transaction of $346,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 199,654 shares in the company, valued at $6,924,000.72. This trade represents a 4.77% 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. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 12,904 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total transaction of $492,674.72. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 145,064 shares in the company, valued at $5,538,543.52. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,345 shares of company stock valued at $2,151,656. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Yelp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Yelp by 307.4% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in Yelp by 1,102.0% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,202 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in Yelp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Yelp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Yelp

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.