Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group

by · The Markets Daily

The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Yelp (NYSE:YELP – Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $38.00 price target on the local business review company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $46.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Yelp in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on Yelp in a report on Monday, September 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Yelp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.33.

View Our Latest Analysis on YELP

Yelp Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of YELP opened at $34.84 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.38. Yelp has a 12 month low of $32.56 and a 12 month high of $48.99. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.33.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $357.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.98 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Yelp will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yelp news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total value of $232,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 281,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,371,246.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total value of $232,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 281,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,371,246.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $377,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,080,985. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,776 shares of company stock valued at $848,050. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Yelp by 262.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 664 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 115.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 976 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 54.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Yelp

(Get Free Report)

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.

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