Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Short Interest Up 186,053.8% in July

Key Points

• Yelp Inc. experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising by 186,053.8% in July, with a total of 4,840,000 shares sold short as of July 15th.
• The company's stock price has decreased by 3.1%, currently trading at $33.36, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Yelp's recent quarterly earnings showed a 7.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $358.53 million, with an EPS of $0.36 surpassing analysts' expectations.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,840,000 shares, anincreaseof186,053.8% from the June 30th total of 2,600 shares. Currently,7.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 780,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 780,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.2 days. Currently,7.8% of the company's shares are sold short.

Yelp Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE YELP traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.36. The stock had a trading volume of 312,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 784,989. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.98. Yelp has a 1-year low of $32.28 and a 1-year high of $41.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.37.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. The firm 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%. Yelp's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on YELP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Activity

In other Yelp news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.68, for a total transaction of $346,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 199,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,924,000.72. This trade represents a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 6,886 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $262,976.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 92,253 shares in the company, valued at $3,523,142.07. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,345 shares of company stock worth $2,151,656. Insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 148,093 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $5,075,000 after acquiring an additional 14,116 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Yelp during the 2nd quarter worth $3,633,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Yelp by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,798 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Yelp during the 2nd quarter worth $449,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Yelp by 52,872.4% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 15,362 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 15,333 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.

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