Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Short Interest Down 18.1% in March

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,530,000 shares, a decline of 18.1% from the March 15th total of 4,310,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 826,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 5.6% of the company's shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other Yelp news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total value of $38,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 182,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,010,227.20. This represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total transaction of $49,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 107,207 shares in the company, valued at $3,554,984.12. The trade was a 1.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,029,667. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Yelp by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,815 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Yelp by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Yelp by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,030 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Yelp by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,767 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in shares of Yelp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 60,697 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $2,349,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Price Performance

Yelp stock traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.88. The company had a trading volume of 34,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 737,110. Yelp has a 1 year low of $32.29 and a 1 year high of $41.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $35.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.87.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.09. The company 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, equities analysts forecast that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on YELP shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.33.

Yelp Company 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.