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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Yelp Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.33.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $361.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $350.73 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 8.48%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yelp Inc. will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Yelp news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 184,558 shares in the company, valued at $7,022,431.90. This represents a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.12, for a total transaction of $377,329.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 122,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,301,497.60. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 44,011 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,131. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 115.9% during the third 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 lifted its stake in Yelp by 87.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased 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 valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 12,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.