Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 337.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,320 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,792 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.24% of MercadoLibre worth $208,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 463 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 17.3% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 35.8% during the first quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP now owns 1,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 19.0% during the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Spear Holdings RSC Ltd grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 136.9% during the first quarter. Spear Holdings RSC Ltd now owns 38,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,892,000 after acquiring an additional 22,360 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

Shares of MELI opened at $1,801.44 on Friday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,495.00 and a 12-month high of $2,548.50. The stock has a market cap of $91.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.54, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,705.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,815.81.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at $8,867,505.15. This represents a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MELI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,950.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $2,100.00 price objective on MercadoLibre in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,258.67.

About MercadoLibre

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.