Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Shares Down 7.3% – What’s Next?

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)’s stock price dropped 7.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $38.21 and last traded at $37.61. Approximately 231,387 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 597,954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Yelp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.17.

Yelp Stock Down 5.7 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.33.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.09. Yelp had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 16.02%. As a group, research analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $38,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 184,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,022,431.90. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,744 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.12, for a total transaction of $377,329.28. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,011 shares of company stock worth $1,677,131 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 115.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 976 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Yelp by 87.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 168.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,131 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 12,008 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 113.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,221 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.