Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 18,189 shares of the local business review company's stock, valued at approximately $704,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Yelp by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 507,990 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $19,659,000 after purchasing an additional 236,400 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Yelp by 347.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 160,363 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $5,627,000 after buying an additional 124,561 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Yelp in the fourth quarter worth about $4,279,000. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in Yelp by 136.5% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 181,622 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $6,371,000 after buying an additional 104,839 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Yelp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,859,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Price Performance

YELP stock traded up $0.83 on Wednesday, reaching $38.41. 965,637 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 688,024. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.75. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.40. Yelp Inc. has a one year low of $32.56 and a one year high of $41.72.

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Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $361.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $350.73 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In other news, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total transaction of $49,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 107,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,554,984.12. This represents a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total value of $38,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,558 shares in the company, valued at $7,010,227.20. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,727 shares of company stock worth $2,081,667. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.17.

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.