Yelp has been one of the nuttiest of the IPOs, in part because the stock has been totally out of whack with other players in the space. For example, this stock got pressed down beyond all belief ahead of a lock-up expiration and then the darned thing roared, no doubt encouraged by a huge short position.
I have liked Yelp ever since I interviewed the company's CEO, Jeremy Stoppelman, on the day it went public. It was easy to like, because in a world where people are gravitating from the desktop to tablets and smartphones, few companies have the edge that Yelp does.
I am on Yelp pretty constantly, looking for places to go that have good word of mouth. I have also been tempted to place an ad in Yelp for the inn I co-own, if only to snag some of the traffic from people who get off a plane in Newark and need a place to stay.The company is viable, even though it is expensive both on earnings and on market cap.
That said, if I were a Yahoo desperate for a social strategy, it would be an easy call to bid $2 billion for this one. Instant social dominance in a world where there are very few smartphone plays of any real value.
Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust is long AAPL.
