Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Stock

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $34.00 to $35.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the local business review company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential downside of 9.42% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Yelp in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yelp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.17.

Yelp Trading Up 0.5 %

YELP stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $38.64. 263,510 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,813. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.34. Yelp has a 1-year low of $32.56 and a 1-year high of $45.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $38,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 184,558 shares in the company, valued at $7,022,431.90. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.29, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 211,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,117,020.52. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,734,268 over the last 90 days. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 654,059 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $22,944,000 after purchasing an additional 78,585 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 1.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,743,899 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $96,256,000 after purchasing an additional 48,363 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 347.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 160,363 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $5,627,000 after purchasing an additional 124,561 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 7.5% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 204,077 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 14,213 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yelp during the third quarter valued at about $732,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% 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.