Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Trading 3% Higher

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $41.35 and last traded at $41.31. Approximately 218,701 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 765,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YELP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on Yelp in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.75.

Yelp Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.62 and a 200 day moving average of $42.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other Yelp news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total value of $268,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 248,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,141,676. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Yelp news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total value of $268,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 248,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,141,676. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.40, for a total value of $119,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 194,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,460,092.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,750 shares of company stock valued at $620,830. 7.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YELP. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Yelp by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,944 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Yelp by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 81,542 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 23,806 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Yelp by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 196,631 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $6,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,007 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of Yelp by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 25,154 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in Yelp by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 39,573 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $1,389,000 after acquiring an additional 3,344 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.