Alberta Investment Management Corp Acquires 17,100 Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Yelp Inc. by 64.8%, acquiring 17,100 shares, raising its total to 43,500 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Yelp, with one firm upgrading it to a "strong-buy" rating, while others lowered their price targets, indicating an average target of $34.00.
• Recent insider transactions include CFO David A. Schwarzbach selling 10,000 shares, reflecting a 4.77% decrease in ownership, as insiders collectively sold 58,345 shares worth over $2.15 million in the last ninety days.

Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 64.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,500 shares of the local business review company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,100 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned about 0.07% of Yelp worth $1,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 307.4% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 827 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Yelp by 57.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,725 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on YELP shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Carmen Amara sold 6,886 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $262,976.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 92,253 shares in the company, valued at $3,523,142.07. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.68, for a total value of $346,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 199,654 shares in the company, valued at $6,924,000.72. The trade was a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,345 shares of company stock worth $2,151,656. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Yelp Stock Performance

YELP traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $33.84. 741,818 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 663,969. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.23. Yelp Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.28 and a 1 year high of $41.72.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $358.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.48 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yelp 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.