Shares of Yelp Inc. (YELP Quick QuoteYELP - Free Report) are up nearly 2.5% since Friday when the company revealed that it has changed its stock structure.

From Sep 22, 2016 onward, the company’s dual-share class structure (that is Class A and Class B) were converted into a single class of common stock. Consequently, the voting powers of the two classes of stock were eliminated, thereby resulting in less insider control.

Following the announcement, which appears to be an effort to book profits, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman and senior Vice President Laurence Wilson sold off a significant portion of their shares.

Investors seem to be encouraged by the news as reduced insider control will likely open the way for a possible takeover.

Yelp shares have been on an uptrend since the company reported blockbuster second-quarter 2016 results on Aug 10. Not only did the company surpass top- and bottom-line expectations, it also saw significant improvement in cumulative reviews, local advertising accounts and app unique devices in the quarter.

As a result, a takeover might give the company a fresh lease of life. According to media reports, the probable acquirers could be Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL Quick QuoteGOOGL - Free Report) , Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN Quick QuoteAMZN - Free Report) and Apple Inc. (AAPL Quick QuoteAAPL - Free Report) among others.

At present, Yelp is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

YELP INC Price and Consensus

YELP INC Price and Consensus | YELP INC Quote

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