Brokerages Set Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Target Price at $41.75

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.75.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James initiated coverage on Yelp in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th.

Yelp Price Performance

YELP opened at $39.99 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62 and a beta of 1.44. Yelp has a one year low of $26.53 and a one year high of $48.99.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The local business review company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.37. The company had revenue of $342.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.83 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.63, for a total value of $111,732.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 258,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,516,994.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.63, for a total transaction of $111,732.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,848 shares in the company, valued at $10,516,994.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total value of $232,980.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 312,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,134,452.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Yelp during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 4,634.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Yelp by 65.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,250 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

About Yelp

Yelp Inc operates a platform that connects consumers with local businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's platform covers various categories, including restaurants, shopping, beauty and fitness, health, and other categories, as well as home, local, auto, professional, pets, events, real estate, and financial services.