Smartphones Will Drive Growth At Yelp [View article]
Would respectfully suggest you're comparing apples to oranges. I'm a small business owner and advertiser so my viewpoint is from ground level. I am also an officer in our local chamber of commerce and I get feedback from many other small business owners. If the business can ship a product nationally or internationally, then Google makes sense because you can target your ad to run anywhere.Yelp can't do that. If you have a business that strictly serves your local market then it is foolish to spend ad dollars on either one because you are already listed free. So yes, Google makes money on business that can serve a non-local market. Yelp doesn't have this capacity and doesn't make money. Big difference. There is also Yelp's very tarnished reputation in the small business community. Based on our local chamber of commerce, they are probably the most hated large company in existence. Lot of other problems with Yelp that could be the subject of a MUCH longer reply. But as most seasoned investors know, companies can fly high on promise before reality sets in. Yelp is flying high now but when you examine the business model and crunch the numbers you'll probably conclude the emperor has no clothes.
Coming Soon: More Losses At Clean Energy Fuels [View article]
rejrnjim: Thank you sir. Stone Fox has (IMHO) succumbed to the major malady of investment pundits; namely ego. He has been bashing this stock from his very first article and continues his unrelenting nit-picking of an admittedly speculative play in the emerging NG market. He has made clear that CLINE is not his cup of tea. I respect that. But would respectfully suggest that this is a stock for big boys and not widows & orphans as appears to be more congruent with his target audience. I am diligently attempting not to venture into the realm of personal attacks but the author's obvious bias and unwillingness to even consider alternate viewpoints leads me to believe his entire argument is nothing more than an ego trip whereas he will rehash the same shopworn arguments regardless of changing realities.
More on Yelp: Average monthly visitors totaled 86M, +31% Y/Y but only +2% Q/Q (was +7% Q/Q in Q3) - 28M were mobile Web users. Active local business accounts +12% Q/Q and +68% Y/Y to 39.8K. Cumulative reviews +9% Q/Q and +45% Y/Y to 36M. Mobile apps used on 9.2M unique devices/month, up from 8M in Q3 and 7.2M in Q2. Sales/marketing expenses +59% Y/Y, less than revenue growth but still 62% of revenue. R&D +97% and 15% of revenue. YELP -4.6% AH. CC underway (webcast). (PR) (slides) [View news story]
Sales/marketing expenses +59% Y/Y, less than revenue growth but still 62% of revenue.
WCoastGuyCA brings up a good point. I believe stem cell companies are an opportunity with unlimited upside potential, however one must be careful as to whom you are dealing with. ATHX has close ties to Cleveland Clinic and has been looked at closely by Pfitzer before they got into bed with them. That tells me the science and the principals are sound. My big bet is on ATHX to run away from the field.
Athersys (ATHX +6.4%) gets a boost today, possibly from an upbeat Seeking Alpha piece that touts its strong pipeline. ATHX is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a number of potential catalysts in its portfolio. Its most advanced programs are in the area of regenerative medicine using its stem cell therapy called MultiStem for the treatment of ischemic stroke. StemCells (STEM -2.3%) slips, possibly on the same article, which says it's in pre-clinical trials for the same indication, but its product isn't as advanced as that of ATHX. [View news story]
Suspect ATHX is a gem that has everything in place except the savvy PR required to inform the street of its potential. Perhaps a favorable article after months of silence woke a few investors up. Good to see.
How The Decision To List Health Code Ratings Could Hurt Yelp [View article]
econmicsmaster makes an excellent point. I am simply stunned when investors somehow think "users" equals profitability with Yelp. Back to basics, it is the customers not the users or user experience that pays the bills and makes a profit. Until they find a way to monetize a review site (which no one else has been able to accomplish) then Yelp and their investors have a dismal future.
Facebook Puts Yelp On The Road To Irrelevancy [View article]
OK...this needs to be said. YELP MAKES NO MONEY OFF OF USERS. YELP ONLY MAKES MONEY WHEN SOME NAIVE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER ADVERTISES. In other words, no matter how cool Yelp is, how big the market is, how many followers it has, yadda, yadda, yadda, Yelp does not and will not make money because it is the most hated, reviled and despised scam that has ever cursed the small business community. I am a business owner with a 5 star rating on Yelp. Why would I pay for something I get for free? I have many, many friends in the business community that have been threatened and extorted by Yelp. Do you think they'll advertise with them? Wake up people. I'm giving you the view from the real world where Yelp has floundered for 8 years of negative earnings. Take off the rose colored glasses and look at their P&L statement.. It's called due diligence. Yes, Stoppelman is no dummy. That's why he and other insiders are quietly dumping their shares. If you're smart, you'll be getting out too.
Facebook Puts Yelp On The Road To Irrelevancy [View article]
"I wouldn't underestimate Jeremy Stoppelman" Agree strongly. Anybody that walks away from the Yelp fiasco with millions in his pocket and doesn't go to jail is one helluva clever fella. However, my opinion of those who get fleeced by this scam tends to differ greatly.
Facebook Puts Yelp On The Road To Irrelevancy [View article]
I suspect the concern about FB is a lot of hype and horsesh*t. By the time FB decides what direction to go in, they'll probably already be irrelevant. A bunch of kids playing at being executives, IMHO.. However, your first bullet point about Yelp's profitability (or lack thereof) is all that really matters. After 8 years with virtually no competition, it has remained a consistent loser. Mobile has proved to also be a flop for Yelp. Bottom line is that only the founders who are dumping their shares and shorts will make any money off this POS.
Yelp (YELP -3.3%) adds to the losses it saw yesterday following's Facebook's Graph Search launch thanks to a downgrade to Underperform from Northland's Darren Aftahi. Aftahi declares Graph Search, which has been lauded by some reviewers, to be "highly competitive to Yelp, as the platform provides a unique alternative to local business search." Of course, people have made similar remarks about Foursquare, Google/Zagat, and a few other would-be rivals. [View news story]
I don't think this FB thing will have a big effect either. In fact, I think all the panic is misplaced. The problem with Yelp is still about core fundamentals. Unprofitable today and selling for -- I kid you not -- a 989.5 P/E ratio on forward earnings estimates, Yelp shares are dramatically expensive. So expensive that the term "overpriced" just can't quite describe the disconnect between this stock's price, and its (minimal) value. My advice: There's no use shouting for help if you own this one. With more than two-thirds of Yelp shares sold short already, no one's coming to rescue you. The only thing to do now is sell, and try to save yourself.
Yelp - On Track To Potentially Become The MySpace Of Online Review [View article]
Mainly FB is making moves to swat Yelp like a pesky fly. Add Yelp's other problems to the mix and investors are running for the exits. Insiders have already started bailing out and as usual, only the terminally optimistic will be left holding an empty bag of dreams.
Smartphones Will Drive Growth At Yelp [View article]
Coming Soon: More Losses At Clean Energy Fuels [View article]
Coming Soon: More Losses At Clean Energy Fuels [View article]
More on Yelp: Average monthly visitors totaled 86M, +31% Y/Y but only +2% Q/Q (was +7% Q/Q in Q3) - 28M were mobile Web users. Active local business accounts +12% Q/Q and +68% Y/Y to 39.8K. Cumulative reviews +9% Q/Q and +45% Y/Y to 36M. Mobile apps used on 9.2M unique devices/month, up from 8M in Q3 and 7.2M in Q2. Sales/marketing expenses +59% Y/Y, less than revenue growth but still 62% of revenue. R&D +97% and 15% of revenue. YELP -4.6% AH. CC underway (webcast). (PR) (slides) [View news story]
Think that says it all.
Yelp Earnings Will Highlight Revenue Growth And Expansion Plans [View article]
Yelp Earnings Will Highlight Revenue Growth And Expansion Plans [View article]
Stem Cell Therapy Companies: Underappreciated Outperformers [View article]
Athersys (ATHX +6.4%) gets a boost today, possibly from an upbeat Seeking Alpha piece that touts its strong pipeline. ATHX is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a number of potential catalysts in its portfolio. Its most advanced programs are in the area of regenerative medicine using its stem cell therapy called MultiStem for the treatment of ischemic stroke. StemCells (STEM -2.3%) slips, possibly on the same article, which says it's in pre-clinical trials for the same indication, but its product isn't as advanced as that of ATHX. [View news story]
How The Decision To List Health Code Ratings Could Hurt Yelp [View article]
Facebook Puts Yelp On The Road To Irrelevancy [View article]
A. $0
Q. And did you peruse their paid ads or rely on the reviews to make a buying decision?
A. The reviews.
Case closed as to why Yelp has a terminally ill business model.
Facebook Puts Yelp On The Road To Irrelevancy [View article]
Facebook Puts Yelp On The Road To Irrelevancy [View article]
Facebook Puts Yelp On The Road To Irrelevancy [View article]
Yelp (YELP -3.3%) adds to the losses it saw yesterday following's Facebook's Graph Search launch thanks to a downgrade to Underperform from Northland's Darren Aftahi. Aftahi declares Graph Search, which has been lauded by some reviewers, to be "highly competitive to Yelp, as the platform provides a unique alternative to local business search." Of course, people have made similar remarks about Foursquare, Google/Zagat, and a few other would-be rivals. [View news story]
My advice: There's no use shouting for help if you own this one. With more than two-thirds of Yelp shares sold short already, no one's coming to rescue you. The only thing to do now is sell, and try to save yourself.
Yelp - On Track To Potentially Become The MySpace Of Online Review [View article]