It’s Friday night and you need to find a reasonably priced, Italian restaurant, that’s good for groups. That’s when Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) steps in and saves you from a restaurant nightmare.
The Latest Yelp! News
On Wednesday, Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), the “online urban guide” and business review site, blew analyst estimates out of the water with its first-quarter report. The company reported revenue of $76.4 million while the Street was only expecting revenue of $75.06 million. These numbers show a 66% year-over-year increase in revenue. Yelp CEO, Jeremy Stoppelman, called the first quarter “a great start to the year”. However, Yelp shares fell inexplicably 6% in after-hours trading that same day.
Analyst Weigh-In
After the results, analysts were blown away by the numbers and were recommending BUY Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) right and left. Credit Suisse analyst Stephen Ju reiterated his BUY rating and raised his price target from $87.00 to $90.00. Stephen let the numbers speak for themselves, noting, “YELP reported 1Q14 results with revenue growing 65.6% YOU to $76.4m.” And he made sure to point out that, “active local business accounts grew to 74k vs. our 73k estimate.” Stephen has a +9.0% average return over S&P-500 on the stock, adding to his overall +10.3% average return over S&P-500.
Stephen also recommended BUY Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) in October of last year when the company beat his estimates third-quarter estimates. Stephen noted, “Yelp once again beat out estimates on both ARPU and active local business accounts, which translated into upside in Local Advertising Revenue.” This recommendation earned Stephen +10.3% over S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX).
Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley also maintained his BUY rating, with a price target of $74.00. Even though internet stocks are having a rough time at the moment, Lloyd argued, “Yelp’s 1Q earnings report confirms our fundamental thesis that improving attribution (closing the loop) and mobile can drive better customer acquisition/retention and user engagement.” Lloyd added, “Traffic growth remains on a tear, mobile usage continues to charge ahead, cohort data remains strong, and call-to-action / Yelp Platform products continue to gain traction.” Lloyd has a +0.7% average return over S&P-500.
Conclusion
Even in this uncertain time for internet stocks, Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) is clearly doing something right. These analysts will have to wait and see if Yelp’s numbers continue to grow.
Jordan Faigen covers financial markets and the latest stock market news. She can be reached at [email protected]
