Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Several research firms have issued reports on YELP. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Yelp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 12,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total transaction of $492,674.72. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 145,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,538,543.52. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dan Jedda sold 2,794 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.68, for a total value of $99,689.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,564 shares in the company, valued at $662,363.52. This represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,345 shares of company stock worth $2,147,176 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 165,798 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $6,140,000 after purchasing an additional 14,246 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Yelp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 39,377 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 7,053 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 208,551 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $7,723,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tenzing Global Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yelp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,480,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Stock Performance

YELP stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 452,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,807. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.92. Yelp has a 1 year low of $32.29 and a 1 year high of $41.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.98.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $358.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.48 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.