Bank of America Begins Coverage on Yelp (NYSE:YELP)

Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Yelp (NYSE:YELP) in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an underperform rating and a $30.00 price target on the local business review company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on YELP. StockNews.com cut shares of Yelp from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $37.20.

Yelp Price Performance

Yelp stock opened at $34.14 on Monday. Yelp has a 12-month low of $32.56 and a 12-month high of $48.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.97.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.27. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm had revenue of $357.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.98 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Yelp will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $253,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 288,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,467,634.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Yelp news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $377,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,080,985. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $253,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 288,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,467,634.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,776 shares of company stock valued at $863,590 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YELP. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Yelp by 0.3% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 86,231 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Yelp by 262.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 664 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in Yelp by 33.9% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.