MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at New Street Research

Key Points

• New Street Research initiated coverage of MercadoLibre with a “buy” rating and a $2,450 price target, implying approximately 35.9% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 12 analysts rate the stock a Buy and six rate it a Hold, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $2,283.12 average price target.
• MercadoLibre reported quarterly revenue of $10.17 billion, up 49.8% year over year, and earnings of $9.19 per share—beating analyst expectations for both revenue and EPS.

Analysts at New Street Research started coverage on shares of MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $2,450.00 price target on the stock. New Street Research's price target indicates a potential upside of 35.93% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $2,150.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,950.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,150.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised MercadoLibre from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MercadoLibre from $1,900.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,283.12.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

NASDAQ:MELI traded down $24.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $1,802.37. 39,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 533,533. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $1,878.11 and its 200-day moving average is $1,770.30. The stock has a market cap of $91.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.31. MercadoLibre has a 1-year low of $1,495.00 and a 1-year high of $2,548.50.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $9.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.65 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $10.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.79 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 26.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 49.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.31 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MercadoLibre will post 39.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MELI. Andra AP fonden acquired a new position in MercadoLibre during the second quarter worth about $2,156,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 459,748 shares of the company's stock worth $780,372,000 after purchasing an additional 32,734 shares during the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 27.0% in the 2nd quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the company's stock worth $6,272,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MercadoLibre by 265.1% during the second quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bienville Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 50.7% during the second quarter. Bienville Capital Management LLC now owns 32,018 shares of the company's stock worth $54,347,000 after buying an additional 10,774 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre, Inc is a technology company that operates an online commerce and financial services ecosystem across Latin America. Founded in 1999 by Marcos Galperin, the company began as an online marketplace and has expanded into a broad platform serving consumers, merchants and businesses.

Its marketplace enables users to buy and sell products across categories, while Mercado Pago provides digital payments, online checkout, money transfers and other financial services. The company also offers Mercado Envíos logistics and fulfillment services, Mercado Ads advertising solutions, and credit products through Mercado Crédito.

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