Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Price Target Lowered to $30.00 at Morgan Stanley

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $35.00 to $30.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the local business review company’s stock.

Yelp Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:YELP opened at $33.06 on Thursday. Yelp has a 52 week low of $32.56 and a 52 week high of $41.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.87. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.08.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $361.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $350.73 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other news, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total transaction of $49,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 107,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,984.12. The trade was a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.40, for a total value of $38,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,010,227.20. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,727 shares of company stock worth $2,029,667 over the last three months. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Yelp by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its position in Yelp by 1,963.6% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 908 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Yelp by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,094 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 307.4% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

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.