Analyst’s Keeping an Eye on Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP)

Analysts are weighing in on how Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) , might perform in the near term. Wall Street analysts have a much less favorable assessment of the stock, with a mean rating of 2.7. The stock is rated as buy by 9 analysts, with 3 outperform and 23 hold rating. The rating score is on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 stands for strong buy and 5 stands for strong sell.

For the current quarter, the 26.00 analysts offering adjusted EPS forecast have a consensus estimate of $-0.07 a share, which would compare with $-0.02 in the same quarter last year. They have a high estimate of $-0.03 and a low estimate of $-0.19. Revenue for the period is expected to total nearly $169.65M from $133.91M the year-ago period.

For the full year, 27.00 Wall Street analysts forecast this company would deliver earnings of -0.29 per share, with a high estimate of $-0.20 and a low estimate of $-0.66. It had reported earnings per share of $-0.44 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Revenue for the period is expected to total nearly $698.40M versus 549.71M in the preceding year.

The analysts project the company to maintain annual growth of around 35.23% percent over the next five years as compared to an average growth rate of 17.19% percent expected for its competitors in the same industry.

Among the 28 analysts Data provided by Thomson/First Call tracks, the 12-month average price target for YELP is $26.39 but some analysts are projecting the price to go as high as $46.00. If the optimistic analysts are correct, that represents a 65 percent upside potential from the recent closing price of $27.94. Some sell-side analysts, particularly the bearish ones, have called for $15.00 price targets on shares of Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) .

In the last reported results, the company reported earnings of $-0.02 per share, while analysts were calling for share earnings of $0.01. It was an earnings surprise of -300.00%percent. In the matter of earnings surprises, the term Cockroach Effect is often implied. Cockroach Effect is a market theory that suggests that when a company reveals bad news to the public, there may be many more related negative events that have yet to be revealed. In the case of earnings surprises, if a company is suggesting a negative earnings surprise it means there are more to come.

Yelp Inc. operates a platform that connects people with local businesses primarily in the United States. Its platform covers various local business categories, including restaurants, shopping, beauty and fitness, arts, entertainment and events, home and local services, health, nightlife, travel and hotel, auto, and others categories. The company provides free and paid business listing services to businesses of various sizes, as well as enables businesses to deliver targeted search advertising to large local audiences through its Website and mobile app. It also provides other services, including Yelp platform, which allows consumers to transact directly on Yelp; Yelp deals that allow local business owners to create promotional discounted deals for their products and services; and gift certificates products for local business owners to sell full-price gift certificates directly to customers. The companys Yelp platform enables consumers to complete food delivery transactions, book spa and salon appointments, order flowers, make winery reservations, and others. It also serves customers in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.