Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Stock Has Average Target Price of $26.57 According to Brokerages

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.57.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Yelp in a research note on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Yelp in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company.

Yelp Trading Up 0.3%

YELP stock opened at $18.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Yelp has a twelve month low of $17.64 and a twelve month high of $34.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $981.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.27.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $375.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.89 million. Yelp had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other news, CTO Alexander Coleman Levy sold 3,829 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total transaction of $89,598.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 54,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,266,501.60. This trade represents a 6.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO David Schwarzbach sold 8,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total transaction of $204,280.71. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 180,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,006.54. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,138 shares of company stock valued at $304,949. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Yelp by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,898 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Yelp during the second quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 3,241.0% during the second quarter. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 167,050 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $4,096,000 after acquiring an additional 162,050 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp in the second quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC bought a new position in Yelp in the second quarter worth approximately $3,156,000. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp Inc operates an online platform that connects consumers with local businesses. Through its website and mobile applications, Yelp provides user-generated reviews, ratings, photos and other information about businesses across categories such as restaurants, home services, beauty and fitness, automotive, health and professional services.

The company generates revenue primarily by offering businesses advertising and other marketing products designed to help them reach consumers searching for local services.