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

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment on Yelp is cautious. The stock has an average rating of “Reduce” from eight analysts, with three sells, four holds, and one buy; the average 12-month price target is about $27.88.
• Recent earnings beat expectations. Yelp reported Q1 EPS of $0.30 versus the $0.26 consensus and revenue of $361.46 million, though revenue grew only 0.8% year over year and EPS was below the prior-year quarter.
• Insiders have been selling shares. CFO David A. Schwarzbach and insider Craig Saldanha both sold stock recently, and insiders sold a total of 33,707 shares worth about $819,145 over the last quarter.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Reduce" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.8750.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on YELP. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Yelp from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Yelp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Yelp from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Yelp in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Evercore set a $30.00 price target on Yelp in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $199,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 209,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,567,380. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.72, for a total transaction of $29,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 267,835 shares in the company, valued at $6,620,881.20. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 33,707 shares of company stock worth $819,145 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 157.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 252,564 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $9,352,000 after purchasing an additional 154,612 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Yelp by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 76,376 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $2,828,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Yelp by 2.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Yelp by 21.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp in the 1st quarter worth $56,000. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yelp Stock Down 2.6%

NYSE YELP opened at $22.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Yelp has a 52 week low of $19.60 and a 52 week high of $35.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.11.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The local business review company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.04. Yelp had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 20.19%. The business had revenue of $361.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Yelp will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company's flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.

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