Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Short Interest Down 18.1% in March

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,530,000 shares, a decline of 18.1% from the March 15th total of 4,310,000 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 826,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $35,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,563,198.50. This represents a 0.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total value of $49,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 107,207 shares in the company, valued at $3,554,984.12. The trade was a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,727 shares of company stock worth $2,029,667. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Yelp by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its position in shares of Yelp by 1,963.6% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 908 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Yelp by 307.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Yelp in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Stock Performance

YELP stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $32.59. 678,321 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 739,888. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.40 and a 200-day moving average of $36.89. Yelp has a 52-week low of $32.29 and a 52-week high of $41.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.08.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $361.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $350.73 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. Research analysts anticipate that Yelp will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.33.

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.