Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Shares Up 11.2% – Time to Buy?

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)’s share price was up 11.2% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $21.97 and last traded at $22.0510. Approximately 194,581 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,277,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Yelp in a report on Friday, September 11th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Yelp from $24.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Yelp in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yelp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.57.

Yelp Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.63.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $375.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.89 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 8.59%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CFO David Schwarzbach sold 8,809 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total transaction of $204,280.71. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 180,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,185,006.54. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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, CTO Alexander Coleman Levy sold 3,829 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total transaction of $89,598.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 54,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,266,501.60. This trade represents a 6.61% decrease in their position. 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 28,638 shares of company stock valued at $614,249 in the last ninety days. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Yelp by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,158 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Yelp by 5.9% in the third quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in Yelp in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Yelp by 16.9% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,482 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essential Partners LLC boosted its stake in Yelp by 225.9% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

About Yelp

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

The company generates revenue primarily by providing businesses with advertising and marketing solutions designed to increase their visibility and connect them with potential customers.