MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,450.00 to $1,685.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,100.00 to $1,460.00 in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,250.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,245.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $1,305.00.

MercadoLibre Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MercadoLibre stock opened at $1,201.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.37 billion, a PE ratio of 125.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,143.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $976.86. MercadoLibre has a 52-week low of $600.68 and a 52-week high of $1,275.82.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 29.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.92) EPS. On average, analysts expect that MercadoLibre will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Emiliano Calemzuk sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,256.00, for a total transaction of $188,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,440. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,020,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 80.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 10,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,531,000 after purchasing an additional 4,587 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 822 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Company Profile

(Get Rating)

MercadoLibre, Inc engages in the development of an online commerce platform with a focus on e-commerce and related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Other Countries. The Other Countries segment includes Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Uruguay, and the United States of America.