Aristides Capital LLC Buys New Stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,000 shares of the local business review company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 0.3% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 86,231 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Yelp by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Yelp by 262.8% during 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 lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 33.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of YELP opened at $35.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.33. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.56 and a 12 month high of $48.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.73.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $377,160.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,080,985. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total value of $232,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 281,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,371,246.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $377,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,080,985. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,776 shares of company stock valued at $863,590 over the last 90 days. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.