Altshuler Shaham Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Altshuler Shaham Ltd cut its MercadoLibre stake by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,000 shares and ending with 43,526 shares valued at about $87.7 million.
• Several other large institutional investors also adjusted their positions, and hedge funds now own 87.62% of MercadoLibre’s stock.
• Wall Street remains constructive overall despite recent target-price cuts: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $2,255.33, even after MercadoLibre missed EPS estimates in its latest quarterly report.

Altshuler Shaham Ltd lowered its position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,526 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. MercadoLibre comprises about 1.3% of Altshuler Shaham Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Altshuler Shaham Ltd owned approximately 0.09% of MercadoLibre worth $87,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,481,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,012,773,000 after purchasing an additional 164,120 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,481,812,000 after purchasing an additional 408,939 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 1.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,740,129 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,067,194,000 after purchasing an additional 22,659 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,725,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,474,880,000 after purchasing an additional 118,018 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,583,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,188,718,000 after purchasing an additional 137,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MELI. Citigroup lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $2,200.00 to $1,950.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,050.00 to $1,750.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $1,800.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,255.33.

Insider Activity

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin purchased 600 shares of MercadoLibre stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,355 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,867,505.15. This trade represents a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

MercadoLibre Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of MELI opened at $1,631.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.73 billion, a PE ratio of 43.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.36. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,495.00 and a 1 year high of $2,645.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $1,711.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,864.64.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.75 by ($0.52). The business had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.74 EPS. Analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MercadoLibre Company Profile

MercadoLibre, Inc operates an integrated e-commerce and fintech ecosystem serving consumers and businesses across Latin America. The company provides an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers for a wide range of goods and services, supported by tools for merchants, advertising, and classifieds. Over time MercadoLibre has expanded beyond its marketplace roots into complementary areas that support digital commerce end to end.

Key offerings include its marketplace platform and a suite of logistics and payment services.

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