Piper Jaffray Downgrades Yelp (YELP) to Neutral; Takeover Priced Into Shares

Piper Jaffray downgraded Yelp (NYSE: YELP) from Overweight to Neutral with a price target of $46.00 (from $70.00) citing risk/reward following recent takeover rumors.

Analyst Gene Munster commented, "We are downgrading YELP to Neutral as we believe a takeout is priced into shares, and shares are trading marginally above our estimated risk-adjusted share price of $46. We believe there is a 65% chance Yelp eventually gets acquired, at a valuation at or slightly below the current share price. As a reminder, shares have traded up ~24% since Yelp-forsale speculation emerged. If Yelp is not sold, we expect YELP shares will lose part of their takeout premium. Our long-term positive outlook on shares of YELP is unchanged, but if a deal does not happen we expect investors will view the attempted sale as a negative indicator of fundamentals. Moving to Neutral, lowering PT to $46 from $70."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Yelp click here. For more ratings news on Yelp click here.

Shares of Yelp closed at $46.89 yesterday.

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