Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

YELP has been the subject of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Yelp from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $28.00 price target on shares of Yelp in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Yelp from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Evercore dropped their price objective on Yelp from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Yelp Stock Performance

NYSE:YELP opened at $20.96 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.55 and its 200 day moving average is $30.43. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.55. Yelp has a 52-week low of $20.03 and a 52-week high of $41.22.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. 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 return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 9.94%.The business had revenue of $359.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $358.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.39, for a total transaction of $821,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 756,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,719,384.62. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christine Barone sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $943,050. The trade was a 32.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 261,106 shares of company stock valued at $7,260,184 over the last 90 days. 8.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 397.4% in the 4th quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 259,299 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $7,880,000 after purchasing an additional 207,166 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC purchased a new stake in Yelp during the fourth quarter valued at about $224,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,939 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 6,101 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 68,279 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,075,000 after buying an additional 2,534 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 80,213 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after acquiring an additional 32,557 shares during the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yelp News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Yelp beat Wall Street on Q4 earnings and reported record net revenue for 2025, showing profitability (Q4 EPS $0.61 vs. $0.47 consensus) and a solid full‑year performance. Business Wire: Yelp Delivers Record Net Revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: The company posted its earnings materials and call transcript (slides and management remarks provide the detail behind results and the investment plan). Investors can review the transcript/slide deck for management’s commentary on AI strategy and product rollouts. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Yelp gave tepid near‑term sales guidance (Q1 / FY2026 revenue range viewed as conservative), and analysts flagged light first‑quarter revenue outlook as the primary reason shares fell despite the beat. Zacks: Stock Dips on Tepid Sales Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Management is accelerating AI investments, which the company says are strategic but which analysts warn will pressure margins and raise near‑term expenses — a concern for investors focused on margin durability. MSN: Q4 Deep Dive — AI Investments and Margin Pressures
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold about $1.7M of stock in early February, which can amplify negative sentiment when investors are already uncertain about guidance and margins. Fool: CEO Sold $1.7M of Shares

About Yelp

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.