When online review site Yelp (YELP) reports Q3 earnings after the close Wednesday, analysts want evidence that the company is sustaining growth in its number of local businesses with pay accounts, a sore spot for the company in Q2. Yelp has been under pressure as analysts worry about the impact of local ad competition and perceived soft growth in its business accounts and users. Yelp added 5,900 active local businesses in Q2, giving it 79,000
On Friday, Sterne Agee initiated coverage of Yelp with a buy rating. The brokerage and investment bank said that the consumer review website is poised to grow sales faster than its rivals, thanks to its accelerating advertiser growth and its massive community of online reviewers and consumers. Sterne Agee set a price target of 85 on Yelp (YELP) stock. But the stock was down nearly 3% in midday trading in the stock market today, near 67. Yelp stock
Online review site Yelp (YELP) agreed to pay a $450,000 civil penalty to settle charges that it improperly collected information from children online, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday. The FTC had alleged that Yelp collected personal information from children through its Yelp app between 2009 and 2013 without first notifying parents and obtaining their consent, as is required under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act