Federman & Sherwood Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action Lawsuit against Yelp, Inc.

Oklahoma City, OK (January 19, 2018) – On January 18, 2018, a securities class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against Yelp, Inc. (NYSE: YELP). The complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws, Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, including allegations of issuing a series of material or false misrepresentations to the market which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price during the Class Period, which is February 10, 2017 through May 9, 2017. More specifically, this litigation was filed because the defendants misled Yelp investors regarding the retention rates for existing customers, as well as revenues and growth rates for the Company’s new customers. The complaint also alleges that Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman personally benefited from withholding such information by selling more than 20% of his shares of Yelp for more than $25,000,000 while allegedly in possession of material nonpublic information regarding Yelp’s financial results.

On February 9, 2017, Yelp reported Fiscal 2016 financial and operational results, and provided a “business outlook” for Fiscal 2017. For Fiscal 2017, the Company reported that “net revenue is expected to be in the range of $880 million to $900 million” and that adjusted EBITDA “is expected to be in the range of $150 million to $165 million.”

On May 9, 2017, Yelp reported its First Quarter 2017 financial and operational results and reduced its Fiscal 2017 business outlook. Specifically, the Company announced that it had decreased its net revenue outlook for Fiscal 2017 down to $850 – $865 million from $880 – $900 million, and that it had decreased its adjusted EBITDA outlook for Fiscal 2017 down to $130 – $145 million from $150 – $165 million.

Following this news, shares of the Company’s stock declined $6.37 per share, or over 18.3%, to close on May 10, 2017 at $28.33 per share, on unusually heavy trading volume.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all Yelp, Inc. shareholders who purchased common stock during the Class Period and are therefore a member of the Class as described above. You may move the Court no later than Monday, March 19, 2018 to serve as a lead plaintiff for the entire Class. However, in order to do so, you must meet certain legal requirements pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

To join this class action, click here to obtain an investor certification. Once complete, please email this form to rkh@federmanlaw.com, fax to us at (405) 239-2112 or send by regular mail to Federman & Sherwood, 10205 North Pennsylvania Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73120, ATTN: Robin.