Insider Selling: Yelp (NYSE:YELP) CFO Sells $150,000.00 in Stock

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) CFO David Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 172,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,459,320. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Yelp Stock Down 2.2%

Yelp stock opened at $19.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.57. Yelp Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.26 and a 52 week high of $34.49.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $375.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Yelp in a research report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Yelp in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Yelp from $24.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $25.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of YELP. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised 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 purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp during the second quarter valued at $61,000. Essential Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 225.9% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 428.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,720 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 3,016 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Yelp in the 2nd quarter valued at $128,000. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Yelp

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI agent could improve user engagement: Yelp introduced an AI-powered assistant that can call restaurants on a user’s behalf to check wait times, join waitlists and help with reservations. The feature could make Yelp more useful to consumers and strengthen its position in local-business discovery. Yelp can now call on your behalf to check wait times at a restaurant
• Positive Sentiment: Large product release expands the AI strategy: Yelp announced 30 new features and updates, including a more personalized Yelp Assistant and AI tools for service professionals. Investors may view the rollout as a way to boost consumer activity, improve business value and create longer-term monetization opportunities. Yelp’s AI can call a restaurant to check wait times for you and text you the answer
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation appears inexpensive, but execution is key: Coverage has characterized Yelp as potentially undervalued following the AI rollout. The company trades at roughly 9.5 times earnings, while its latest reported quarter included an earnings beat and 1.4% year-over-year revenue growth. However, investors will need evidence that the new tools increase traffic, advertising demand or revenue growth. Is Yelp undervalued following its new AI rollout?
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst skepticism and insider selling weigh on sentiment: Yelp CFO David Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares worth $150,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Separately, the analyst consensus remains “Reduce,” with several underweight or sell ratings and a recent price-target cut to $17 from Morgan Stanley. These factors suggest concerns about Yelp’s modest growth outlook despite its low valuation. Yelp CFO sells 7,500 shares

Yelp Company Profile

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.