Analysts Set Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Target Price at $41.75

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on YELP shares. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yelp news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,750 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.63, for a total value of $111,732.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,516,994.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.63, for a total value of $111,732.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,848 shares in the company, valued at $10,516,994.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total value of $232,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 312,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,134,452.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 2,835 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management increased its stake in Yelp by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 14,506 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in Yelp by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 14,121 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,681 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $1,900,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yelp Trading Up 0.2 %

YELP stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $40.92. The stock had a trading volume of 478,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 746,733. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $38.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.50. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31 and a beta of 1.49. Yelp has a 52-week low of $26.53 and a 52-week high of $48.99.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The local business review company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37. The company had revenue of $342.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $341.83 million. Yelp had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 14.06%. Yelp's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Yelp will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

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.