GSA Capital Partners LLP Cuts Stock Position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP has reduced its stake in Yelp Inc. by 36.1%, selling 14,014 shares and now holding 24,828 shares valued at approximately $919,000.
• Other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions, with Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC significantly increasing its stake by 272.5% during the first quarter.
• Yelp's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.36 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $34.00.

GSA Capital Partners LLP lessened its holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 36.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,828 shares of the local business review company's stock after selling 14,014 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP's holdings in Yelp were worth $919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Yelp by 2.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,536 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $13,869,000 after buying an additional 8,239 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Yelp by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 752,742 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $29,131,000 after acquiring an additional 57,610 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yelp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,766,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Yelp by 272.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 56,595 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 41,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 609.5% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 159,157 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $6,159,000 after purchasing an additional 136,724 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $35,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 212,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,494,125.60. The trade was a 0.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 6,886 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 92,253 shares in the company, valued at $3,523,142.07. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,345 shares of company stock valued at $2,151,656. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Yelp Price Performance

NYSE:YELP opened at $34.39 on Friday. Yelp Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.28 and a 1 year high of $41.72. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $35.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.37. The company has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.98.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $358.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $353.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.00.

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.

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