MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Upgraded to “Buy” at New Street Research

New Street Research upgraded shares of MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $2,300.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $2,000.00.

MELI has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,150.00 to $1,950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on MercadoLibre in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,800.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,200.00 to $2,100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $2,244.69.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,947.32 on Thursday. MercadoLibre has a 52 week low of $1,324.99 and a 52 week high of $2,161.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,841.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,914.92. The company has a market capitalization of $98.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Insider Activity

In other MercadoLibre 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 transaction of $99,249.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,425.24. This trade represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MercadoLibre

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 9.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 3.6% in the third quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 0.9% during the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC raised its position in MercadoLibre by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 27 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.