Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) SVP Laurence Wilson sold 11,250 shares of the company in an open market Transaction on July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.54, and the total transaction amounted to $838,575.00. After the transaction, SVP is left with 20,000 shares of the company valuing around $1,490,800, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
Analysts bullish
In a research note issued on Thursday, Deutsche Bank analysts raised the price target on Yelp from $74.00 to $86.00, and gave a Buy rating to the stock. Many other analysts have also covered the stock recently.
Macquarie analysts, also, raised the price target on Yelp from $82.00 to $93.00, and gave Outperform rating, in a note to investors on Thursday. Also, in a note on Thursday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. gave an Overweight rating to the stock and raised the price target from $94.00 to $100.00. However, Raymond James analysts lowered the rating on Yelp from Outperform to Market perform with a price target of $80.00, in a report on Thursday.
Overall, Yelp has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $89.03.
Local business growth a concern for Yelp
Yelp reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, July 30th, beating the top and bottom line estimates. Revenue for the quarter was up 61% y/y to $88.8 million helping EBITDA to gain by a whopping 120% y/y. For the third-quarter, the company gave guidance above the analyst’s estimate. Yelp expects revenue in the range of $98 million to $99 million compared to analysts estimate.
During the quarter, Yelp added 5,900 active local businesses including the numbers from the SeatMe acquisition. Inspite of the acquisition, the number was lower compared to the last quarter, which raises concerns as local business growth is vital for revenues.
Raymond James analyst noted that the company’s Other Services revenues that include third-party revenue streams from Google, OpenTable and other sources declined to $4 million, which is 25% growth year over year, but is lower to the last quarter growth of 58%.
Eric Sheridan of UBS believes that Yelp’s brand recognition is lower compared to other eCommerce platforms such as TripAdvisor, Google and Priceline.
“Investors will likely cap the stock at after-market levels as questions arise on forward active local business account growth and implications of decelerating unit/revenue growth,” said Sheridan.
