Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America began coverage on Yelp in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on Yelp in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $46.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of YELP stock traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $37.56. 1,033,488 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 727,564. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.35 and its 200-day moving average is $35.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.33. Yelp has a 52 week low of $32.56 and a 52 week high of $48.99.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.27. Yelp had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 8.48%. The company had revenue of $357.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Yelp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In other news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,080,985. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Yelp news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $238,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 255,558 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,083.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $377,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,080,985. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Yelp by 262.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 664 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Yelp in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Yelp by 115.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 976 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 98.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by 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.