Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.2857.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on YELP. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of Yelp from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Yelp from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group set a $28.00 target price on shares of Yelp in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of Yelp stock opened at $24.35 on Wednesday. Yelp has a 1 year low of $23.80 and a 1 year high of $41.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.63. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.41, for a total transaction of $410,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 127,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,137.07. This trade represents a 9.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christine Barone sold 15,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,435 shares in the company, valued at $943,050. This represents a 32.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 261,106 shares of company stock valued at $7,260,184. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the second quarter worth $28,000. Bfsg LLC raised its holdings in Yelp by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 839 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Yelp by 100.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Yelp by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,159 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 1,102.0% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,202 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Yelp

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company’s flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.