MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,689 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $257,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,812,000 after buying an additional 408,939 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in MercadoLibre by 803.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 333,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,665,000 after acquiring an additional 296,543 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter valued at $597,045,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in MercadoLibre by 184.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 311,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,083,000 after acquiring an additional 202,322 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in MercadoLibre by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,481,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,012,773,000 after acquiring an additional 164,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 price of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,867,505.15. The trade was a 12.62% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MELI shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Daiwa Securities Group downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $1,800.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $2,000.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $1,900.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 3.4%

MELI stock opened at $1,675.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.36. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,495.00 and a 52-week high of $2,645.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,687.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,843.28.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last issued its quarterly 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). MercadoLibre had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current year.

MercadoLibre 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.