Eminence Capital, led by Ricky Sandler, has initiated a new position in Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP). In a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the hedge fund disclosed owning 3.33 million Class A shares. The stake is passive by nature and represents 5.1% of the company’s outstanding common stock.
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New York-based hedge fund Eminence Capital was founded by Ricky Sandler in 1998. The hedge fund has around $3.6 billion assets under management (AUM). In its latest 13F, Eminence Capital reported holding positions in 60 companies. The portfolio, valued at $6.46 billion, mainly consists of consumer, information technology, and industrial stocks. The investor’s top holding, in terms of value, are represented by Fossil Group Inc (NASDAQ:FOSL), GNC Holdings Inc (NYSE:GNC), and Men’s Wearhouse Inc (NYSE:MW).
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Let’s talk about Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), a $3.50 billion online review company, which operates a consumer-review website. For the first quarter of 2015, the company reported revenue of $118.5 million, up by 55% compared to the same quarter last year. Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) narrowed its net loss for the quarter to $1.3 million, or $0.02 per share, from $2.6 million, or $0.04 per share a year earlier. Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) expects revenue for the second quarter to be in the range of $131 million to $134 million, an increase of around 49%on the year. On a full-year basis, the revenue is expected to be in the range of $574 million to $579 million, which represents a 53% increase compared to last year.
Moreover, during the first quarter, Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) acquired Eat24, a web and app-based online food ordering service based in San Bruno, California. Eat24 is currently offering online delivery and takeout services to about 20,000 restaurants in over 1,500 cities in the United States. Following the purchase, valued at $134 million, Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) is planning to expand Eat24’s services to the one million U.S. restaurants listed on its website.
Moreover, Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) is expanding its presence in Asia. Recently, the company launched Yelp.my to serve local businesses in Malaysia. During the first quarter, Yelp started operations in Taiwan, launching a dedicated website for the local market.
The performance of Yelp Inc’s (NYSE:YELP) stock isn’t very impressive. The company’s stock slumped by 22.41% during the past year, compared to the industry average gain of 17.04%.
At the beginning of this month, Bloomberg reported that Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) is working with Goldman Sachs to find a buyer. In response to rumors that Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) is one of the possible parties interested in buying Yelp, Eric Jackson, a Yahoo shareholder, said in a CNBC program that there is no chance Yahoo will acquire Yelp. Jackson, who is founder and president of Ironfire Capital, said that, “on behalf of Yahoo shareholders, Yahoo and Marissa Mayer should not be thinking about touching this company […].”
Other investors with heavy positions in Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) include Eashwar Krishnan’s Tybourne Capital Management, and Sanford J. Colen’s Apex Capital, holding 3.58 million shares and 1.06 million shares, respectively.
Disclosure: none
