Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Upgraded by Evercore ISI to "Outperform" Rating

Key Points

• Yelp has been upgraded by Evercore ISI from a "hold" to an "outperform" rating, with a price target set at $45.00, indicating a potential upside of 32.59% from the current stock price.
• In the latest earnings report, Yelp reported an EPS of $0.67 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.48, with revenue at $370.39 million, up 3.7% year-over-year.
• Insiders have sold a total of 37,400 shares of Yelp stock over the last ninety days, representing a 7.40% ownership by insiders in the company.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $45.00 price target on the local business review company's stock. Evercore ISI's target price would suggest a potential upside of 32.59% from the company's current price.

YELP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen cut Yelp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Yelp from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Yelp in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.40.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of YELP stock opened at $33.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.98. Yelp has a one year low of $29.96 and a one year high of $41.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.28.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The local business review company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $370.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $365.71 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 10.28%.Yelp's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Yelp has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In related news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.24, for a total transaction of $312,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 170,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,316,923.04. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value of $48,495.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,766,348.78. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,400 shares of company stock worth $1,211,130 over the last ninety days. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Yelp in the second quarter valued at $28,000. MAI Capital Management grew its position in shares of Yelp by 1,102.0% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,202 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 307.4% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Yelp in the first quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Yelp in the first quarter valued at $56,000. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.