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

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com 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 analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2,258.6667.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MELI shares. Zacks Research upgraded MercadoLibre from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark cut their target price 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. Daiwa Securities Group downgraded MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $1,800.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $2,100.00 price target on MercadoLibre in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Insider Transactions at MercadoLibre

In related news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $8,867,505.15. This represents a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MELI. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in MercadoLibre in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in MercadoLibre by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 170 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ MELI opened at $1,857.42 on Friday. MercadoLibre has a 12 month low of $1,495.00 and a 12 month high of $2,548.50. The company has a market capitalization of $94.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.02, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,678.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,822.75. 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 (NASDAQ:MELI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.75 by ($0.52). The business had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.29 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MercadoLibre will post 41 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.