Yelp (NYSE:YELP) PT Raised to $34.00

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $32.00 to $34.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the local business review company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on YELP. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Yelp from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Raymond James began coverage on Yelp in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on Yelp from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Yelp in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $41.33.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YELP opened at $36.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.33. Yelp has a fifty-two week low of $34.76 and a fifty-two week high of $48.99.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The local business review company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $332.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $333.66 million. Yelp had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 15.69%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Yelp will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 26,718 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.62, for a total value of $978,413.16. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 167,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,069.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 26,718 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.62, for a total value of $978,413.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 167,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,069.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmen Orr sold 14,984 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $569,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,180,418. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,068 shares of company stock valued at $1,997,590. 7.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CastleKnight Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 126.7% in the fourth quarter. CastleKnight Management LP now owns 68,925 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $3,263,000 after buying an additional 38,525 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,994,129 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $94,402,000 after purchasing an additional 13,790 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 14,121 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 186.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 463,505 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $21,942,000 after purchasing an additional 301,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 9.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 63,126 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 5,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

About Yelp

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.