MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI Shares Sold by 3G Capital Partners LP

Key Points

• 3G Capital Partners LP has reduced its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 15.8%, now owning 16,000 shares valued at approximately $31.2 million.
• Despite the reduction by 3G Capital, several other hedge funds have increased their holdings in MercadoLibre, indicating continued institutional interest in the company.
• Recent earnings showed MercadoLibre reporting $10.31 EPS, missing estimates but achieving revenue growth of 33.8% year-over-year, with an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy."

3G Capital Partners LP trimmed its position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. MercadoLibre makes up about 9.0% of 3G Capital Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. 3G Capital Partners LP's holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $31,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MELI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in MercadoLibre by 170.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 274,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $536,411,000 after buying an additional 173,449 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 22.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 570,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,113,881,000 after acquiring an additional 104,554 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 23.5% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 461,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $901,058,000 after acquiring an additional 87,912 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre in the first quarter valued at $143,367,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 18.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 450,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $878,757,000 after acquiring an additional 70,834 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MELI. Wall Street Zen downgraded MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on MercadoLibre from $3,100.00 to $3,000.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $2,750.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $3,000.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,850.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,817.22.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2,417.49. 493,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,482. The stock has a market cap of $122.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.71, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,646.00 and a twelve month high of $2,645.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2,402.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $2,299.81.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $12.01 by ($1.70). The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.57 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.06% and a net margin of 8.52%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.48 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

About MercadoLibre

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.