Analysts Set MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) Target Price at $2,255.33

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2,255.3333.

MELI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wedbush reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $1,900.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin bought 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,867,505.15. The trade was a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MELI. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,812,000 after purchasing an additional 408,939 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 803.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 333,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,665,000 after purchasing an additional 296,543 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter worth $597,045,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 114.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 444,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,728,000 after purchasing an additional 237,008 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 184.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 311,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,083,000 after acquiring an additional 202,322 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MercadoLibre Trading Up 0.0%

MercadoLibre stock opened at $1,695.65 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. MercadoLibre has a 12 month low of $1,495.00 and a 12 month high of $2,645.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,719.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,902.46. The firm has a market cap of $85.96 billion, a PE ratio of 44.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.41.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released 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 return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The company had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre will post 40.97 earnings per share for the current year.

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.