Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C Takes Position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 33,062 shares of the local business review company's stock, valued at approximately $1,222,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 327.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 62,129 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $2,296,000 after purchasing an additional 47,580 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in Yelp by 52.8% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 242,101 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $8,946,000 after buying an additional 83,660 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 13,371 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 5,527 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Yelp by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 190,099 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $7,024,000 after purchasing an additional 69,095 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Yelp in the second quarter worth about $239,000. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total transaction of $232,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 281,842 shares in the company, valued at $9,371,246.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,080,985. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total transaction of $232,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 281,842 shares in the company, valued at $9,371,246.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,776 shares of company stock valued at $863,590 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Yelp Stock Performance

YELP stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $33.92. 346,015 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,663. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.82. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.56 and a 12 month high of $48.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.33.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $357.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.98 million. Yelp had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Yelp's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on YELP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Yelp in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yelp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.20.

Yelp 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.