MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Shares Up 9.7% – Here’s Why

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) was up 9.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $2,168.14 and last traded at $2,165.4180. Approximately 377,128 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 391,419 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,973.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MELI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, October 31st. Benchmark reduced their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,875.00 to $2,780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,850.00 to $2,700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,842.94.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $2,076.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2,261.44. The stock has a market cap of $108.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.42.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $8.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.88 by ($1.56). The company had revenue of $7.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 39.03% and a net margin of 7.93%.The company’s revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.83 EPS. Analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MercadoLibre

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Emiliano Calemzuk sold 45 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $521,034.09. This trade represents a 14.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stelleo Tolda sold 246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,047.88, for a total value of $503,778.48. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,136 shares of company stock valued at $2,308,788 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 3.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,816,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,244,604,000 after acquiring an additional 59,838 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 1.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,740,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,067,194,000 after purchasing an additional 22,659 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,235,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,228,460,000 after purchasing an additional 81,124 shares during the last quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 140,201.3% during the 2nd quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 1,066,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,786,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in MercadoLibre by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 572,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,565,000 after purchasing an additional 50,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

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.