Brokerages Set Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Target Price at $34.00

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Carmen Amara sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.63, for a total value of $86,549.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,730,600.57. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total value of $36,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 223,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,122,426.08. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,551 shares of company stock valued at $1,692,686. 8.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Yelp by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its position in Yelp by 1,963.6% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 908 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Yelp by 307.4% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in Yelp during the first quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Yelp during the first quarter worth about $56,000. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yelp Stock Up 0.5%

YELP stock opened at $36.98 on Friday. Yelp has a 12-month low of $32.29 and a 12-month high of $41.72. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.40.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $358.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.48 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 18.07%. Yelp’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

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.