Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Yelp (NYSE:YELP – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the local business review company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Yelp from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and decreased their target price for the company from $34.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Yelp from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Yelp from $31.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Yelp from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on Yelp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Yelp Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE YELP opened at $29.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 57.51 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.43. Yelp has a twelve month low of $25.30 and a twelve month high of $39.26.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The local business review company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $309.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.34 million. Yelp had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 5.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Yelp will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.77, for a total value of $154,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 265,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,830,415.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Yelp news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.77, for a total transaction of $154,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 265,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,830,415.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $56,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 175,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,907,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 390,605 shares of company stock worth $11,371,956 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Yelp by 127.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 867 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Yelp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Yelp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Yelp by 94.6% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,584 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Yelp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

About Yelp

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Yelp, Inc engages in the business of operating a community-driven platform that connects people with great local businesses. The company was founded by Jeremy Stoppelman and Russell Simmons in July 2004 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.