Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Stock: Insider David Schwarzbach Sells 7,500 Shares

Key Points

• Yelp CFO David Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares at an average price of $20, generating $150,000; the transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced his ownership by 4.16%.
• Yelp shares recently traded at $19.54, near the lower end of their 52-week range, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.57 and revenue of $375.5 million, both exceeding analyst expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with an average “Reduce” rating and a $25.57 price target; institutional investors own approximately 90.11% of Yelp’s shares.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) CFO David Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 172,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,459,320. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of Yelp stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Monday, reaching $19.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,110,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,291,289. Yelp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.26 and a fifty-two week high of $34.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 9.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.68.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $366.89 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YELP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Yelp in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Yelp in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Yelp from $24.00 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $25.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 20.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,683,927 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $66,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,261 shares during the last quarter. OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Yelp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,796,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Yelp by 73.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 562,739 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $13,922,000 after purchasing an additional 238,993 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 39.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 522,004 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $12,914,000 after buying an additional 147,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Yelp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,951,000. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Yelp

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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