Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $32.42 and last traded at $32.50, with a volume of 54828 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on YELP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.33.

Yelp Price Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $35.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.08.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $361.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $350.73 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $35,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,563,198.50. The trade was a 0.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.31, for a total transaction of $343,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 239,112 shares in the company, valued at $8,203,932.72. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,025,717 in the last 90 days. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yelp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,197,000. Suncoast Equity Management acquired a new stake in Yelp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $721,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 366,297 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $14,176,000 after purchasing an additional 10,995 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 332.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,195 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 11,678 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.