Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.2857.

YELP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Yelp from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. UBS Group set a $28.00 price target on Yelp in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Yelp from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YELP opened at $28.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.68 and a 200-day moving average of $31.42. Yelp has a one year low of $27.29 and a one year high of $41.72.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The local business review company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.14. Yelp had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The business had revenue of $376.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Yelp’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Yelp News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Yelp announced it will acquire Hatch, an AI-powered lead-management/customer-communication platform, in a deal reported around $270M–$300M — a strategic push to embed AI into Yelp’s local-business offerings and boost monetization of service-business listings. This could accelerate revenue growth and improve lead conversion for advertisers if integration succeeds. Yelp to Buy Hatch for $270M in Cash Yelp Purchasing AI Lead Management Platform Hatch for $300 Million
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/style-score coverage from Zacks labels Yelp as a top-ranked growth stock, highlighting attractive growth metrics and screen-based endorsements that can draw investor interest and institutional attention. Yelp (YELP) is a Top-Ranked Growth Stock: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also profiles Yelp as a strong value stock on style-score screens, noting valuation and profitability metrics (helpful context for investors balancing growth and value exposures). Here’s Why Yelp (YELP) is a Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Yelp released its 2026 “Top 100 Places to Eat” list (and related local/regional coverage). These annual lists drive consumer engagement and media attention, supporting ad inventory demand and brand reach — a modest, recurring positive for traffic and local-ad sales. Yelp Announces its 2026 Top 100 Places to Eat in the United States
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity: CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 30,000 shares recently. While insider sales are often routine, the market sometimes treats them as a negative signal about insider conviction or as added share supply near a news event. Jeremy Stoppelman Sells 30,000 Shares of Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Stock

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.69, for a total value of $46,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 74,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,282,660.82. The trade was a 1.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total transaction of $36,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 192,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,844,963.97. This represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 136,406 shares of company stock valued at $3,957,000. 8.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yelp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YELP. Bfsg LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 839 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Yelp in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Yelp by 100.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Yelp by 1,102.0% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,202 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the third quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors 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.