Align Financial LLC Invests $20.29 Million in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Align Financial LLC purchased a new position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,286,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,564,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MercadoLibre

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,867,505.15. The trade was 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. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MELI shares. Benchmark lowered their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,780.00 to $2,380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $1,800.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $2,200.00 to $1,950.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of MercadoLibre stock opened at $1,631.82 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,711.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,864.64. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,495.00 and a 52 week high of $2,645.22. The company has a market capitalization of $82.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.07, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.74 earnings per share. MercadoLibre’s revenue was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.