Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by stock analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies in a research note issued on Friday. They presently have a $37.00 target price on the local business review company’s stock. Piper Jaffray Companies’ target price indicates a potential downside of 7.62% from the stock’s previous close.
Several other research firms also recently weighed in on YELP. Vetr upgraded shares of Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.94 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) upgraded shares of Yelp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Yelp in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Roth Capital set a $21.00 price target on shares of Yelp and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Yelp in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.25.
Yelp (NYSE YELP) traded up 27.67% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,906,184 shares. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.37. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 541.22 and a beta of 1.48. Yelp has a one year low of $26.93 and a one year high of $43.41. Yelp also was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 62,135 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,632% compared to the typical volume of 3,587 put options.
Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The local business review company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.12. Yelp had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 1.64%. The firm had revenue of $209.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Yelp will post ($0.08) EPS for the current fiscal year.
Yelp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the local business review company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: This news story was first published by StockNewsTimes and is the property of of StockNewsTimes. If you are viewing this news story on another publication, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of United States and international copyright and trademark law. The legal version of this news story can be viewed at https://stocknewstimes.com/2017/08/05/yelp-inc-nyseyelp-stock-rating-reaffirmed-by-piper-jaffray-companies.html.
In other news, SVP Laurence Wilson sold 3,128 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.23, for a total value of $88,303.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 181,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,363.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Geoffrey L. Donaker sold 4,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.66, for a total transaction of $142,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $341,979.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,251 shares of company stock worth $1,534,950. Insiders own 10.10% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Yelp during the second quarter worth approximately $504,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Yelp during the second quarter worth approximately $5,722,000. ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 27.2% in the second quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 227,493 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $6,829,000 after buying an additional 48,679 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL bought a new stake in Yelp during the second quarter worth approximately $251,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its stake in Yelp by 2.0% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 100,798 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $3,026,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. 92.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Yelp Company Profile
Yelp Inc (Yelp) connects people with local businesses by bringing ‘word of mouth’ online and providing a platform for businesses and consumers to engage and transact. The Company offers local business review sites. Yelp provides a platform for consumers to share their everyday local business experiences with other consumers by posting reviews, tips, photos and videos, and to engage directly with businesses, through reviews, its Request-A-Quote and Message the Business features, and by completing transactions on the Yelp Platform.
Receive News & Ratings for Yelp Inc. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Yelp Inc. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
