Wedbush Has Lowered Expectations for MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Stock Price

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) had its price objective dropped by Wedbush from $2,800.00 to $2,700.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wedbush’s price target points to a potential upside of 35.16% from the company’s current price.

MELI has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Benchmark decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,875.00 to $2,780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on MercadoLibre from $3,000.00 to $2,900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,850.00 to $2,950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,850.00 to $2,700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,842.94.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of MELI opened at $1,997.61 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $2,098.11 and its 200 day moving average is $2,293.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. MercadoLibre has a 12-month low of $1,646.00 and a 12-month high of $2,645.22. The company has a market capitalization of $101.28 billion, a PE ratio of 48.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.42.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $8.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.88 by ($1.56). MercadoLibre had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 39.03%. The company had revenue of $7.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that MercadoLibre will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MercadoLibre

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Stelleo Tolda sold 246 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,047.88, for a total value of $503,778.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Emiliano Calemzuk sold 45 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,027.37, for a total transaction of $91,231.65. Following the sale, the director directly owned 257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $521,034.09. This represents a 14.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,136 shares of company stock worth $2,308,788. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 3.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,816,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,244,604,000 after acquiring an additional 59,838 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 1.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,740,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,067,194,000 after purchasing an additional 22,659 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,235,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,228,460,000 after purchasing an additional 81,124 shares during the period. Lavaca Capital LLC raised its position in MercadoLibre by 140,201.3% during the 2nd quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 1,066,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,786,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 572,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,565,000 after purchasing an additional 50,893 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

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.