MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Stock Price Up 1.6% – Time to Buy?

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)’s share price was up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $2,090.78 and last traded at $2,089.65. Approximately 49,515 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 345,155 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2,055.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MELI has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,025.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,200.00 to $2,480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Susquehanna raised their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,300.00 to $2,350.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,800.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,301.67.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $103.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2,047.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,781.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.28.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $10.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $1.95. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.52% and a net margin of 8.03%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 37.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MELI. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 34,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 20.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,658 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 143.7% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 168.5% during the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 45,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,622,000 after buying an additional 28,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Privium Fund Management UK Ltd bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the second quarter worth $875,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

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.