ARS Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 27.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 227,493 shares of the local business review company’s stock after buying an additional 48,679 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Yelp were worth $6,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Fund Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 852.6% in the first quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 335,272 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $10,980,000 after buying an additional 300,076 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 192.1% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 194,846 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $6,381,000 after buying an additional 128,131 shares during the period. Flinton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the first quarter worth $205,000. Tyers Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the first quarter worth $169,000. Finally, Millie Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 1.2% in the first quarter. Millie Capital Management LLC now owns 64,378 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,108,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.37% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Yelp Inc. (YELP) opened at 41.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 264.62 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.40. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.93 and a 12 month high of $43.41.
Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The local business review company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $209.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.89 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 1.60% and a net margin of 1.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post $0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Yelp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 3rd that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the local business review company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Yelp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. Cowen and Company restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Yelp in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. B. Riley restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Yelp in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. UBS AG restated a “sell” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Yelp in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Yelp in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Yelp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.95.
In other news, Director Geoffrey L. Donaker sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.23, for a total value of $112,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,725.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Laurence Wilson sold 3,128 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.23, for a total value of $88,303.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 181,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,136,363.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,251 shares of company stock valued at $5,488,625. Company insiders own 10.10% of the company’s stock.
About Yelp
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.
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