Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Insider Selling

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $26.56 and last traded at $26.62, with a volume of 38901 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.40.

Specifically, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.26, for a total value of $817,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 756,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,621,045.08. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.54, for a total value of $826,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 756,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,832,853.32. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In other news, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 30,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.39, for a total transaction of $821,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 756,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on YELP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Yelp from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Yelp from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Yelp from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Yelp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.29.

Yelp Stock Down 8.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.01.

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

Institutional Trading of Yelp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Yelp by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 20,544 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 2,527 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,159 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 57,641 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 18,098 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Yelp during the fourth quarter valued at about $351,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yelp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

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.