Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Yelp a consensus “Reduce” rating: Two analysts rate the stock a sell, four a hold and one a buy, with an average 12-month price target of $27.57.
• Forward earnings expectations have weakened: Zacks raised its fiscal 2026 EPS estimate slightly to $1.85 but cut forecasts for late 2026, fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028.
• Insiders recently sold shares: Yelp’s CTO and CFO sold a combined 12,638 shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax obligations, while insiders own 8.30% of the company.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two 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 company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.5714.

Several brokerages have weighed in on YELP. Evercore set a $30.00 price objective on Yelp in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Yelp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Yelp from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Yelp from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $28.00 price target on Yelp in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Yelp News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks modestly raised its fiscal 2026 EPS forecast to $1.85 from $1.84, slightly above the current consensus estimate of $1.84.
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm kept its “Hold” rating on Yelp. Its estimates imply EPS of $2.14 in fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028, although the fiscal 2028 projection was subsequently reduced.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut its third-quarter 2026 EPS forecast to $0.45 from $0.57 and its fourth-quarter forecast to $0.48 from $0.55, lowering expectations for second-half 2026 earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 EPS was reduced to $2.14 from $2.28, with individual reductions for the third quarter to $0.56 from $0.64 and the fourth quarter to $0.58 from $0.66.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional cuts affected fiscal 2028: first-quarter EPS fell to $0.53 from $0.58, second-quarter EPS to $0.62 from $0.65, and full-year EPS to $2.14 from $2.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yelp news, CTO Alexander Coleman Levy sold 3,829 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total transaction of $89,598.60. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 54,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,266,501.60. This trade represents a 6.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 A. Schwarzbach sold 8,809 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total transaction of $204,280.71. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 180,466 shares in the company, valued at $4,185,006.54. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 13,638 shares of company stock valued at $317,879 in the last three months. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Yelp by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,159 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,158 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Yelp by 181.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Yelp in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YELP opened at $23.16 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.02 and its 200 day moving average is $24.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.45. Yelp has a 1-year low of $19.60 and a 1-year high of $34.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.21. Yelp had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company had revenue of $375.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Yelp

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company's flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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