UBS Group AG Boosts Stock Position in Yelp Inc. $YELP

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its Yelp stake by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 151,641 additional shares and ending with 875,826 shares worth about $26.6 million.
• Yelp’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $0.30 versus $0.26 expected and revenue of $361.46 million versus $353.47 million estimated, helped by stronger other revenue and broader use of its Assistant tools.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: several firms have lowered ratings, and although JPMorgan raised its price target to $26, the stock’s average rating is still “Reduce” with an average price target of $29.38.

UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 875,826 shares of the local business review company's stock after purchasing an additional 151,641 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 1.42% of Yelp worth $26,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bfsg LLC boosted its stake in Yelp by 110.3% during the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 839 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Yelp by 100.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Yelp during the first quarter worth $56,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Yelp during the third quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Yelp by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $199,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 209,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,567,380. This represents a 3.46% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Dan Jedda sold 1,464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total transaction of $30,773.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $359,442. This trade represents a 7.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 28,864 shares of company stock valued at $723,573 over the last three months. 8.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Yelp

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Yelp beat Q1 expectations, reporting $0.30 EPS versus $0.26 expected and $361.46 million in revenue versus $353.47 million estimated, helped by stronger other revenue and broader adoption of its Assistant tools. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Yelp said it is advancing its AI transformation, which may support future product improvements and monetization if adoption continues. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Yelp to $26 from $22 but kept a neutral rating, suggesting the stock may still have limited upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s Q1 earnings call transcript and related coverage indicate investors are focusing on whether revenue growth can outpace expense pressure in coming quarters. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, Q1 EPS declined from a year ago and costs rose, which may be pressuring sentiment around profitability. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Yelp’s FY2026 revenue guidance appears roughly in line with consensus, but the lack of a clearly stronger outlook may be limiting enthusiasm for the stock. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YELP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Yelp from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Yelp from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Yelp from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $28.00 target price on shares of Yelp in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Yelp currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $29.38.

Yelp Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of YELP opened at $27.04 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.53. Yelp Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.60 and a 12-month high of $41.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.59.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The local business review company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $361.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.47 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 20.19%. The business's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current 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.

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