Wall Street Zen Downgrades Yelp (NYSE:YELP) to Hold

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also commented on YELP. UBS Group set a $28.00 price target on Yelp in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Yelp from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Yelp from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Yelp from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yelp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of YELP stock opened at $20.96 on Friday. Yelp has a one year low of $20.03 and a one year high of $41.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.55.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The local business review company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $359.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $358.70 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 19.96%. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Yelp news, Director Christine Barone sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 31,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $943,050. The trade was a 32.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.39, for a total value of $821,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 756,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,719,384.62. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 261,106 shares of company stock valued at $7,260,184 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yelp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bfsg LLC grew its position in Yelp by 110.3% in the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 839 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Yelp during the second quarter worth $28,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Yelp by 100.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Yelp by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,159 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 181.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Yelp

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Yelp beat Wall Street on Q4 earnings and reported record net revenue for 2025, showing profitability (Q4 EPS $0.61 vs. $0.47 consensus) and a solid full‑year performance. Business Wire: Yelp Delivers Record Net Revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: The company posted its earnings materials and call transcript (slides and management remarks provide the detail behind results and the investment plan). Investors can review the transcript/slide deck for management’s commentary on AI strategy and product rollouts. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Yelp gave tepid near‑term sales guidance (Q1 / FY2026 revenue range viewed as conservative), and analysts flagged light first‑quarter revenue outlook as the primary reason shares fell despite the beat. Zacks: Stock Dips on Tepid Sales Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Management is accelerating AI investments, which the company says are strategic but which analysts warn will pressure margins and raise near‑term expenses — a concern for investors focused on margin durability. MSN: Q4 Deep Dive — AI Investments and Margin Pressures
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold about $1.7M of stock in early February, which can amplify negative sentiment when investors are already uncertain about guidance and margins. Fool: CEO Sold $1.7M of Shares

About Yelp

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company’s flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.