Brokerages Set Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Target Price at $37.17

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.17.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on YELP. StockNews.com raised shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI raised Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $38.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Yelp Trading Up 1.6 %

YELP stock opened at $40.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.36. Yelp has a 1 year low of $32.56 and a 1 year high of $45.91.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The local business review company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.16. Yelp had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $360.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Yelp will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.12, for a total value of $377,329.28. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 122,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,301,497.60. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 12,854 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.17, for a total value of $490,637.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,389,992.21. This represents a 12.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,865 shares of company stock worth $2,167,768 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Yelp by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,815 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Yelp by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Yelp by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,094 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Yelp by 115.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 976 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is 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.