Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.50.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on YELP shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Yelp from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $28.00 target price on Yelp in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Yelp from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings cut Yelp from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.69, for a total transaction of $46,035.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 74,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,282,660.82. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.26, for a total transaction of $817,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 756,458 shares in the company, valued at $20,621,045.08. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 236,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,501,015 over the last ninety days. 8.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in Yelp by 110.3% in the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 839 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,159 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Yelp by 181.3% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its position 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Yelp News

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 highlights show Yelp delivered near‑term operating strength (a slight revenue decline but an EPS beat and solid margins), which supports the company’s current valuation and likely underpins some buying interest. Social networking stocks Q4 highlights: Yelp
• Neutral Sentiment: Local consumer momentum: a New Jersey restaurant was named to Yelp’s Top 100 for 2026 — a positive brand/engagement datapoint but with limited direct impact on Yelp’s top‑line or near‑term financials. This NJ restaurant made Yelp’s list of top 100 for 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut earnings estimates across multiple quarters and trimmed FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts (several Q1–Q4 2026 and Q1–Q4 2027 revisions), and kept a “Hold” rating — these downgrades lower analyst expectations and could pressure the stock if others follow or if management’s guidance disappoints. Yelp (YELP) analyst estimate updates

Yelp Stock Up 1.1%

YELP stock opened at $24.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.30. Yelp has a 12-month low of $19.60 and a 12-month high of $41.22.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The local business review company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.14. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.96% and a net margin of 9.94%.The firm had revenue of $359.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $358.70 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Yelp will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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.