Yelp Inc. $YELP Shares Sold by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC reduced its stake in Yelp Inc. by 26.4%, selling 75,620 shares during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of approximately 0.32% of the company valued at $7.8 million.
• Yelp’s earnings report for the quarter showed an EPS of $0.67, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $370.39 million, marking a 3.7% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts have downgraded Yelp's rating, with the current consensus being a "Reduce" and a target price of $34.00, amidst mixed institutional investor activity and insider selling.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC cut its holdings in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 26.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 210,977 shares of the local business review company's stock after selling 75,620 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 0.32% of Yelp worth $7,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Yelp by 157.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 252,564 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $9,352,000 after acquiring an additional 154,612 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Yelp by 109.5% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 199,626 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $7,392,000 after acquiring an additional 104,340 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its holdings in Yelp by 47.0% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 47,630 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $1,764,000 after acquiring an additional 15,230 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 33,137 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 7,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yelp during the 1st quarter worth $1,945,000. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yelp Stock Performance

YELP stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.97. The stock had a trading volume of 657,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 970,027. The company's 50 day moving average price is $33.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.95. Yelp Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.96 and a 1-year high of $41.72. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.03.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The local business review company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.19. Yelp had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The firm had revenue of $370.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Yelp has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total transaction of $48,495.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,766,348.78. The trade was a 1.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.43, for a total value of $314,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 180,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,663,560.28. The trade was a 5.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,494 shares of company stock worth $1,305,389 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on YELP shares. Bank of America cut their price target on Yelp from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Yelp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $34.00.

About Yelp

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.