Non-Restaurant Usage Driving Yelp's Growth, Pacific Crest Survey Says

Shares of

are trading higher by 2.5 percent to $63.33 in Monday's trading. The stock is getting a boost following bullish comments from Pacific Crest. Analyst Evan Wilson's checks with non-restaurant advertisers indicate “non-restaurant consumer usage and review base has grown.” Citing the Q1 PCS Consumer Tech Survey, “the percentage of users using Yelp for non-restaurant reviews was 39%, up from 33%, and 31% for non-restaurant information (location, hours, etc.), up from 28% in 2H13,” the analyst said. Eighty percent of non-restaurant advertisers surveyed were new customers, according to Wilson, who “also saw stronger-than-expected demand for the performance-based product with one-third of businesses using it.” “As Yelp introduces more Platform features and expands beyond restaurants and internationally, the [local exposure] opportunity will continue continue to expand,” said the Pacific Crest analyst. Wilson has an Outperform rating and $115 price target on the stock, implying 81 percent upside from current levels.