Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Shares Gap Up to $32.52

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP – Get Rating)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.52, but opened at $35.88. Yelp shares last traded at $35.61, with a volume of 824,756 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YELP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Yelp from $31.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $30.00 to $26.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.63.

Yelp Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.36 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 7,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $213,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 237,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,115,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 7,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $213,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 237,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,115,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmen Orr sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total transaction of $258,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 101,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,263,503.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,302 shares of company stock worth $985,678. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Yelp by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,944 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Yelp by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 81,542 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,781,000 after buying an additional 23,806 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Yelp by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 196,631 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $6,707,000 after buying an additional 8,007 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in Yelp by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 25,154 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 2,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in Yelp by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 39,573 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $1,389,000 after buying an additional 3,344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

About Yelp

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Yelp, Inc engages in the business of operating a community-driven platform that connects people with great local businesses. The company was founded by Jeremy Stoppelman and Russell Simmons in July 2004 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.