Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $27.09 and last traded at $27.3330, with a volume of 213208 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on YELP. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Yelp in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Yelp from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $33.00 price objective on Yelp in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yelp has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $31.29.

Yelp Trading Down 0.0%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.22. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.55.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The local business review company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.14. Yelp had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 10.23%.The business had revenue of $376.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.39, for a total transaction of $821,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 756,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,719,384.62. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.69, for a total value of $46,035.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 74,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,282,660.82. The trade was a 1.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 164,906 shares of company stock valued at $4,729,140 in the last quarter. Insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bfsg LLC boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 110.3% in the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 839 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Yelp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Yelp by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management grew its position in Yelp by 1,102.0% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,202 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company’s flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.