Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Reduces Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. significantly reduced its stakes in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 84.2%, ending with just 136 shares valued at approximately $265,000.
• Other institutional investors, such as Banco Santander and Prospect Financial Services, LLC, increased their positions in MercadoLibre, indicating a mixed sentiment among major investors.
• MercadoLibre's most recent earnings report showed a net margin of 8.52% with a 33.8% increase in revenue year-over-year but missed the earnings per share estimate by $(1.70).

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 84.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 136 shares of the company's stock after selling 727 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.'s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 221.9% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,357,000 after buying an additional 1,893 shares during the period. Prospect Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 41.7% during the first quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC now owns 340 shares of the company's stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 3,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,525,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the period. Finally, Avant Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

NASDAQ MELI opened at $2,334.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $2,441.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $2,238.33. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,646.00 and a 1 year high of $2,645.22. The company has a market cap of $118.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.66, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.46.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last released its 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). MercadoLibre had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 43.06%. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $10.48 earnings per share. MercadoLibre's revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MELI. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $2,975.00 target price (up previously from $2,840.00) on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Scotiabank initiated coverage on MercadoLibre in a report on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $3,500.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,640.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $3,000.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,795.00.

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.

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