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

Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2,842.9412.

A number of research firms have recently commented on MELI. Benchmark lowered their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,875.00 to $2,780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,975.00 to $2,900.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $2,750.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MELI opened at $2,153.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.20 billion, a PE ratio of 52.56, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $2,049.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $2,227.44. MercadoLibre has a twelve month low of $1,723.90 and a twelve month high of $2,645.22.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $8.32 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 business had revenue of $7.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre will post 43.96 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Emiliano Calemzuk sold 45 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,027.37, for a total value of $91,231.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $521,034.09. This trade represents a 14.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stelleo Tolda sold 246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,047.88, for a total value of $503,778.48. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,136 shares of company stock valued at $2,308,788 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MercadoLibre

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Lavaca Capital LLC raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 140,201.3% in the second 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 during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 803.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 333,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,665,000 after buying an additional 296,543 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 2nd quarter valued at $698,848,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 304.7% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 255,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $666,744,000 after acquiring an additional 192,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 1,669.4% during the third quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 181,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,666,000 after acquiring an additional 171,449 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.