Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $32.56 and last traded at $33.06, with a volume of 148781 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.17.

Yelp Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $36.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.94.

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

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Insider Activity at Yelp

In other Yelp news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total transaction of $38,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 182,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,010,227.20. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.51, for a total value of $395,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 191,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,585,445.88. This trade represents a 4.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,424,767 in the last three months. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Yelp by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,815 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Yelp by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in 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. increased 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 buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 60,697 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $2,349,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company's stock.

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.