Raymond James Initiates Coverage on Yelp (NYSE:YELP)

Equities research analysts at Raymond James started coverage on shares of Yelp (NYSE:YELP) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating on the local business review company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Craig Hallum reduced their price target on Yelp from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.75.

Yelp Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:YELP opened at $39.40 on Wednesday. Yelp has a 1 year low of $26.53 and a 1 year high of $48.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.19 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.57 and a 200-day moving average of $42.85.

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. Yelp had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $342.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Yelp will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total value of $268,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 248,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,141,676. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.40, for a total value of $119,350.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 194,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,460,092.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total value of $268,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 248,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,141,676. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,750 shares of company stock valued at $620,830. 7.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Yelp during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Yelp by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 50,754 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 16,711 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,170,459 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $55,410,000 after buying an additional 7,052 shares during the last quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yelp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 67.3% during the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 142,098 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $6,727,000 after acquiring an additional 57,168 shares in 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.