Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Shares Gap Down to $34.44

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $34.44, but opened at $33.39. Yelp shares last traded at $33.36, with a volume of 88,942 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on YELP. Bank of America assumed coverage on Yelp in a research note on Monday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Yelp in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.20.

Yelp Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.97.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $357.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.98 million. Yelp had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $253,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 288,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,467,634.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $253,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 288,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,467,634.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $377,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 145,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,080,985. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,776 shares of company stock valued at $863,590 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Yelp by 0.3% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 86,231 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Yelp by 262.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 664 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.