Yelp (NYSE:YELP) PT Lowered to $48.00

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Craig Hallum from $55.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the local business review company's stock. Craig Hallum's price objective indicates a potential upside of 30.47% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on YELP. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Yelp from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.67.

Yelp Price Performance

YELP traded down $2.83 on Friday, hitting $36.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,997,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,119. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43 and a beta of 1.44. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.34. Yelp has a 1-year low of $28.24 and a 1-year high of $48.99.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The local business review company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.16. Yelp had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The business had revenue of $332.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $333.66 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Yelp will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 2,835 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Heron Bay Capital Management lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Yelp by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 86,231 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its position in shares of Yelp by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 14,121 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 0.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company's stock.

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.

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