Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Short Interest Update

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,030,000 shares, a decline of 14.8% from the February 13th total of 4,730,000 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 718,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Yelp Stock Up 0.8 %

Yelp stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,671,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,653. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.40. Yelp has a 12 month low of $32.56 and a 12 month high of $41.72. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $37.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.69.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $361.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $350.73 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 18.07%. Equities research analysts expect that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Remove Ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 note on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.17.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other news, insider Carmen Amara sold 11,238 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $393,330.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 108,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,784,305. This trade represents a 9.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 21,989 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total transaction of $785,007.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 153,159 shares in the company, valued at $5,467,776.30. This represents a 12.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,083,317 over the last ninety days. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Yelp in the 4th quarter worth $4,368,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Yelp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Yelp by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 97,963 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $3,791,000 after purchasing an additional 35,642 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Yelp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yelp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.