Mixed Reviews for Yelp Stock Ahead of Earnings

Yelp is on the docket to post earnings after the market closes today

The shares of Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) are up 5%, last seen trading at $23.14, ahead of the restaurant review platform's first-quarter earnings report,due out after the close today. Below, we'll dive deeper into the company's earnings history, and why options traders may have a difficult time discerning where YELP will head after its latest report.

On the charts, its been a mixed bag for Yelp stock. Despite a strong quarterly gain of 28.9%, the equity is still suffering from a 33.3% year-to-date deficit. On March 19, the YELP traded at an all-time-low of $12.89. Now up nearly 81% from that level, the security is still looking to topple its 60-day moving average for the first time since mid-February when shares were trading above the $35 mark.

There is ample pessimism surrounding Yelp stock among analysts. Of the 15 in coverage, 10 rate it an unenthusiastic "hold." Furthermore, the consensus 12-month target price of $25.89 is a relatively low 11.2% premium to the stock's current levels.

Looking back at the past two years, the stock has a less-than-stellar historyfollowing quarterly reports. Of the eight previous reports, five have been negative, including a 14.4% downward swing last May. Following its August 2018 quarterly report, YELP saw a swing upward of 26.7% before coming back down for a 26.6% the other way the very next quarter. The security averages a 12.5% swing, regardless of direction, the day after its last eight reports, and this time around, the options pits are pricing in an lofty 18.2% shift, regardless of direction.

In the options pits, YELP sports 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.33 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), a ratio that sits higher than 84% of all other readings from the past 12 months This suggests that the appetite for puts has been extremely healthy in the last 10 weeks.