Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives $37.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Monday, September 16th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Yelp to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $46.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com raised Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $238,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 255,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,083.16. The trade was a 2.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $38,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 184,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,022,431.90. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,537,218 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Yelp by 24.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 54.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 262.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 664 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 115.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 976 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 98.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Price Performance

YELP traded up $0.84 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.34. 1,056,993 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 725,470. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $35.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.52. Yelp has a fifty-two week low of $32.56 and a fifty-two week high of $48.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35.

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.