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

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $19.58 and last traded at $19.6050, with a volume of 3157078 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YELP has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 issued an “underweight” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given 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 a consensus target price of $26.57.

Yelp Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CTO Alexander Coleman Levy sold 3,829 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total transaction of $89,598.60. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 54,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,266,501.60. This trade represents a 6.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 A. Schwarzbach sold 8,809 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total value of $204,280.71. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 180,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,185,006.54. This represents 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 have sold 13,138 shares of company stock valued at $304,949 in the last three months. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YELP. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,682,238 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $81,513,000 after buying an additional 279,300 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Yelp by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,683,927 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $66,402,000 after buying an additional 457,261 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Yelp by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,161,711 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $35,304,000 after acquiring an additional 15,849 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Yelp by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 884,522 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $26,881,000 after acquiring an additional 36,528 shares during the period. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp during the 1st quarter valued at about $14,796,000. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.