Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Yelp from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group set a $28.00 target price on Yelp in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Yelp from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Yelp Stock Down 8.2%

NYSE:YELP opened at $20.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.55 and a 200 day moving average of $30.43. Yelp has a 52 week low of $20.03 and a 52 week high of $41.22.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The local business review company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $359.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $358.70 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 19.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,200 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.40, for a total transaction of $32,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 190,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,230,084.60. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 6,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.20, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 964,827 shares in the company, valued at $23,348,813.40. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 261,106 shares of company stock worth $7,260,184. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 397.4% in the fourth quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 259,299 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $7,880,000 after purchasing an additional 207,166 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp during the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Yelp by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,939 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 6,101 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in Yelp by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 68,279 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,075,000 after buying an additional 2,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Yelp by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 80,213 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,438,000 after buying an additional 32,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Yelp

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Yelp beat Wall Street on Q4 earnings and reported record net revenue for 2025, showing profitability (Q4 EPS $0.61 vs. $0.47 consensus) and a solid full‑year performance. Business Wire: Yelp Delivers Record Net Revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: The company posted its earnings materials and call transcript (slides and management remarks provide the detail behind results and the investment plan). Investors can review the transcript/slide deck for management’s commentary on AI strategy and product rollouts. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Yelp gave tepid near‑term sales guidance (Q1 / FY2026 revenue range viewed as conservative), and analysts flagged light first‑quarter revenue outlook as the primary reason shares fell despite the beat. Zacks: Stock Dips on Tepid Sales Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Management is accelerating AI investments, which the company says are strategic but which analysts warn will pressure margins and raise near‑term expenses — a concern for investors focused on margin durability. MSN: Q4 Deep Dive — AI Investments and Margin Pressures
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold about $1.7M of stock in early February, which can amplify negative sentiment when investors are already uncertain about guidance and margins. Fool: CEO Sold $1.7M of Shares

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.