Weitz Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Weitz Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 15.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the quarter. MercadoLibre makes up 1.1% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $15,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $2,000.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $2,150.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Daiwa Securities Group downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $1,800.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,900.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,150.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,272.00.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

Shares of MELI stock opened at $1,922.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.12. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,495.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,548.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,793.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,775.94. The company has a market capitalization of $97.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.29, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.34.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $9.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.65 by $0.54. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 26.54% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm had revenue of $10.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 49.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 39.11 earnings per share for the current year.

MercadoLibre Company 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.