Yelp's stock surges as company responds to investor push to unlock shareholder value

Shares of Yelp Inc. ran up 2.9% in morning trade Wednesday, after the online business-review database responded to investor SQN Investors's presentation criticizing the company's performance and pushing to "unlock value." Yelp said it is focused on taking "disciplined" actions to achieve "sustained, long-term growth" and create shareholder value. "Yelp is open to hearing any ideas and investor input, including from SQN," the company said in a statment. "We remain willing and open to meeting with SQN to hear their perspectives on the topics they have previously raised, all of which are items on which the Board has already been engaged." SQN said earlier that the 5-year history of Yelp's underperformance appears set to continue under the current board. SQN said successful implementation of its recommendations could boost the stock price to $55 to $65, which is 57% to 86% above Tuesday's closing price of $34.97, while an "immediate sale" to a private equity partner could push the price up to $47 to $50. SQN said it owns over 4% of Yelp's shares outstanding. Yelp's stock has still lost 17.4% over the past 12 months, while the Nasdaq Composite has slipped 2.4% and the S&P 500 has given up 5.7%.

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