JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Stock Price

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $36.00 to $35.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the local business review company's stock.

Separately, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.33.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YELP traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.44. The company had a trading volume of 447,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 741,085. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $35.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.88. Yelp has a fifty-two week low of $32.29 and a fifty-two week high of $41.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.08.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $361.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $350.73 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 18.07%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yelp news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total transaction of $34,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 222,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,665,538.40. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.31, for a total transaction of $343,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 239,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,203,932.72. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,727 shares of company stock worth $2,025,717 in the last ninety days. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 82.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth increased its stake in Yelp by 1,963.6% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 908 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,094 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Yelp by 307.4% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Yelp in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Company 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.