MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after BTIG Research lowered their price target on the stock from $2,650.00 to $2,400.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. MercadoLibre traded as low as $1,631.18 and last traded at $1,665.0560, with a volume of 110667 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,666.93.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on MELI. Zacks Research upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,750.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wedbush lowered their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,708.67.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MELI. Lavaca Capital LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 140,201.3% in the second 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. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,812,000 after acquiring an additional 408,939 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 803.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 333,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,665,000 after acquiring an additional 296,543 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $597,045,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew 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 purchasing an additional 202,322 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Trading Down 0.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $84.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.22, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,959.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,099.04.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $11.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.66 by ($0.63). The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.45 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 6.91% and a return on equity of 33.73%. The business’s revenue was up 44.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $12.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.