Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $17.64 and last traded at $17.7440, with a volume of 1817886 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on YELP shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $26.57.

Yelp Trading Down 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $981.45 million, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.27.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.21. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 8.59%.The company had revenue of $375.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In related news, CTO Alexander Coleman Levy sold 3,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total transaction of $89,598.60. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 54,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,266,501.60. The trade was a 6.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO David Schwarzbach sold 8,809 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total transaction of $204,280.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 180,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,006.54. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 13,138 shares of company stock valued at $304,949 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 20.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,683,927 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $66,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,261 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Yelp by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,161,711 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $35,304,000 after purchasing an additional 15,849 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Yelp by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 884,522 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $26,881,000 after buying an additional 36,528 shares during the period. OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Yelp during the 1st quarter valued at $14,796,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 73.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 562,739 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $13,922,000 after buying an additional 238,993 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Company Profile

Yelp Inc operates an online platform that connects consumers with local businesses. Through its website and mobile applications, Yelp provides user-generated reviews, ratings, photos and other information about businesses across categories such as restaurants, home services, beauty and fitness, automotive, health and professional services.

The company generates revenue primarily by offering businesses advertising and other marketing products designed to help them reach consumers searching for local services.