Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Stock Lifted to “Strong-Buy” by Zacks Research

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Yelp in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Yelp from $24.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.57.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of Yelp stock opened at $18.41 on Tuesday. Yelp has a 12 month low of $17.26 and a 12 month high of $34.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $998.78 million, a P/E ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.84.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $375.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.89 million. Yelp had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yelp will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yelp news, CFO David Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 165,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,309,320. This trade represents a 4.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Alexander Coleman Levy sold 3,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total value of $89,598.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 54,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,266,501.60. This represents a 6.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 28,638 shares of company stock valued at $614,249. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Yelp by 20.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,683,927 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $66,402,000 after acquiring an additional 457,261 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Yelp by 73.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 562,739 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $13,922,000 after purchasing an additional 238,993 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 39.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 522,004 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $12,914,000 after purchasing an additional 147,329 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 467,195 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $11,558,000 after purchasing an additional 66,833 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Yelp by 192.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 367,028 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $9,080,000 after purchasing an additional 241,656 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp Inc operates an online platform that helps consumers discover and evaluate local businesses. Through its website and mobile applications, Yelp provides business listings, user-generated reviews, ratings, photos and other information across categories such as restaurants, home services, beauty and fitness, automotive, health and professional services.

The company generates revenue primarily by providing businesses with advertising and marketing solutions designed to increase their visibility and connect them with potential customers.