Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Buys New Stake in Yelp Inc. $YELP

Key Points

• Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired 483,821 Yelp shares in the third quarter, valued at approximately $8.95 million and representing 0.89% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 90.11% of Yelp.
• Yelp reported quarterly earnings of $0.57 per share, beating estimates of $0.36, while revenue rose 1.4% year over year to $375.52 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Yelp has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with recent price targets of $17 from Morgan Stanley and $19 from JPMorgan, despite a consensus target price of $25.57.

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 483,821 shares of the local business review company's stock, valued at approximately $8,951,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC owned 0.89% of Yelp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Yelp during the first quarter worth $14,796,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Yelp by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,683,927 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $66,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,261 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Yelp by 192.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 367,028 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $9,080,000 after purchasing an additional 241,656 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Yelp by 73.8% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 238,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in Yelp in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,028,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yelp news, CTO Alexander Coleman Levy sold 3,829 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total value of $89,598.60. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 54,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,266,501.60. This represents a 6.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 A. Schwarzbach sold 8,809 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 180,466 shares in the company, valued at $4,185,006.54. This trade represents a 4.65% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,638 shares of company stock valued at $314,249. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yelp Stock Performance

NYSE:YELP opened at $19.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Yelp Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.26 and a 12-month high of $34.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.69.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.21. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 8.59%. The company had revenue of $375.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Yelp Inc. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Yelp from $24.00 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Yelp in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Yelp presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $25.57.

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp Inc operates an online platform that connects consumers with local businesses. Its website and mobile application allow users to search for businesses, read and contribute reviews, view photos and other business information, and discover providers across categories such as restaurants, home services, beauty, automotive, and health care.

The company generates revenue primarily by offering businesses advertising and other marketing solutions designed to help them reach customers on Yelp.

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