Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Director Dan Jedda Sells 2,794 Shares

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Director Dan Jedda sold 2,794 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.68, for a total transaction of $99,689.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,363.52. This represents a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Yelp Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE YELP traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $35.62. 965,365 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 752,649. The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.37. Yelp Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.29 and a 52-week high of $41.72.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Yelp had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The firm had revenue of $358.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YELP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YELP. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Yelp by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 752,742 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $29,131,000 after buying an additional 57,610 shares during the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management purchased a new stake in Yelp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $721,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Yelp by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 366,297 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $14,176,000 after purchasing an additional 10,995 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 332.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,195 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 11,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Yelp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $704,000. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.