The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Price Target to $25.00

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) had its price objective cut by The Goldman Sachs Group from $33.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the local business review company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Yelp from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Yelp from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 price objective on Yelp in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Yelp in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Yelp from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $28.50.

Yelp Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Yelp stock opened at $21.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.06. Yelp has a 52-week low of $19.61 and a 52-week high of $41.22.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The local business review company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.14. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.96% and a net margin of 9.94%.The firm had revenue of $359.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $358.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.40, for a total value of $32,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 190,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,230,084.60. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 6,200 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.20, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 964,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,348,813.40. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 261,106 shares of company stock valued at $7,260,184. 8.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bfsg LLC boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 110.3% during the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 839 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Yelp during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Yelp by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Yelp by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,159 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Yelp by 181.3% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company’s flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.