MQS Management LLC Invests $318,000 in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 9,064 shares of the local business review company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 207.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,804 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 8,636 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Yelp in the 1st quarter worth $70,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,467 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Yelp by 13.1% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 39,065 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 4,528 shares during the period. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Yelp during the first quarter valued at about $363,000. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of YELP opened at $36.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.54 and its 200 day moving average is $35.68. Yelp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.56 and a fifty-two week high of $48.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YELP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Yelp to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yelp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $238,140.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 255,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,083.16. This represents a 2.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 12,854 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,389,992.21. This represents a 12.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,630 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,937 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

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.