Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Stock Price Down 7.3% - Here's Why

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 7.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $38.21 and last traded at $37.61. Approximately 231,387 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 597,954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on YELP shares. Evercore ISI raised Yelp to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.17.

Yelp Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $39.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.57. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.33.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $361.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $350.73 million. Yelp had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 16.02%. Sell-side analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In related news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.72, for a total value of $397,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 201,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,022,963.36. This trade represents a 4.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total value of $38,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 182,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,010,227.20. This represents a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,011 shares of company stock worth $1,677,131 in the last quarter. 7.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YELP. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Yelp by 1.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,743,899 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $96,256,000 after buying an additional 48,363 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,553,227 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $89,567,000 after acquiring an additional 23,719 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,924,457 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $74,477,000 after acquiring an additional 164,149 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,845,575 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $71,424,000 after purchasing an additional 255,775 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Yelp by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,774,878 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $68,702,000 after purchasing an additional 15,649 shares during the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is owned by 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.