Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 92.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,669 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,401 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $9,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 238.3% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares during the period. Weitz Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,647,000. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 11,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 2,494.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,943,000 after purchasing an additional 14,770 shares during the period. Finally, Deepwater Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 7,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,674.08 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,713.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,867.47. The stock has a market cap of $84.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.36. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,495.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,645.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.75 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at $8,867,505.15. This trade represents a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MELI shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,780.00 to $2,380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,255.33.

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.