Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Trading Up 4%

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) were up 4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $45.96 and last traded at $45.76. Approximately 98,667 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 647,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on YELP shares. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $43.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Yelp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Yelp in a research note on Friday, July 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.56.

Yelp Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.04. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.35 and a beta of 1.46.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The local business review company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $337.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.96 million. Yelp had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 6.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In other news, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 10,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,183,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,248,950. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 10,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,183,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,248,950. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmen Orr sold 12,468 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $539,241.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 86,580 shares in the company, valued at $3,744,585. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 107,068 shares of company stock valued at $4,709,875 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 12,790.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,269,731 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $34,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,881 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,208,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 7.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,257,853 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $281,675,000 after purchasing an additional 596,879 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 71.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,384,522 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $42,505,000 after purchasing an additional 579,148 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 1,440.8% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 444,765 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $13,650,000 after purchasing an additional 415,899 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 local business 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.