Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Shares Gap Down to $34.44

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $34.44, but opened at $33.39. Yelp shares last traded at $33.36, with a volume of 88,942 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YELP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on Yelp in a report on Monday. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Yelp in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.20.

Yelp Stock Down 4.0 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25 and a beta of 1.33.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $357.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.98 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $377,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 145,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,080,985. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Yelp news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $253,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 288,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,467,634.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $377,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,080,985. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,776 shares of company stock worth $863,590 over the last quarter. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Yelp in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Yelp by 262.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 664 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in Yelp during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Yelp by 153.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,323 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.