MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Sets New 1-Year High on Strong Earnings

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $2,364.59 and last traded at $2,266.72, with a volume of 145575 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $2,110.47.

The company reported $12.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $2.40. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 40.71% and a net margin of 7.57%. The firm had revenue of $6.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MELI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. New Street Research raised MercadoLibre from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $2,000.00 to $2,300.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,530.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,480.00 to $2,450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Raymond James raised MercadoLibre from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $2,250.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $2,294.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Emiliano Calemzuk sold 50 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,984.98, for a total value of $99,249.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,425.24. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MELI. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd purchased a new position in MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.33 billion, a PE ratio of 79.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,858.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,952.94.

MercadoLibre Company Profile

MercadoLibre, Inc operates online commerce platforms in the United States. It operates Mercado Libre Marketplace, an automated online commerce platform that enables businesses, merchants, and individuals to list merchandise and conduct sales and purchases digitally; and Mercado Pago FinTech platform, a financial technology solution platform, which facilitates transactions on and off its marketplaces by providing a mechanism that allows its users to send and receive payments online, as well as allows users to transfer money through their websites or on the apps.