MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $2,258.6667.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MELI. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $1,900.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Daiwa Securities Group downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $1,800.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,780.00 to $2,380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

NASDAQ MELI opened at $1,798.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.14. MercadoLibre has a 1-year low of $1,495.00 and a 1-year high of $2,548.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,700.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,815.91.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.75 by ($0.52). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The business had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MercadoLibre will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MercadoLibre

In related news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of MercadoLibre stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at $8,867,505.15. This trade represents a 12.62% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MercadoLibre

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 2,494.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,943,000 after purchasing an additional 14,770 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its stake in MercadoLibre by 238.3% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,089,000 after buying an additional 1,430 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 11,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,179,000 after buying an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 7,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,641,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in MercadoLibre by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 40,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,941,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Company Profile

MercadoLibre, Inc operates an integrated e-commerce and fintech ecosystem serving consumers and businesses across Latin America. The company provides an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers for a wide range of goods and services, supported by tools for merchants, advertising, and classifieds. Over time MercadoLibre has expanded beyond its marketplace roots into complementary areas that support digital commerce end to end.

Key offerings include its marketplace platform and a suite of logistics and payment services.