Atika Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Atika Capital Management cut its stake in MercadoLibre by 20.7% in Q3, selling 2,070 shares and leaving 7,930 shares valued at $18.53M (1.5% of the fund and its 23rd largest holding), while institutional investors hold roughly 87.6% of MELI.
• In the latest quarter MercadoLibre posted an EPS miss ($11.03 vs. $11.66 expected) but revenue beat estimates at $8.76B and grew 44.6% year-over-year; the stock trades near its 52-week low (opened $1,766.10) with a market cap of $89.5B and a P/E of 44.8.
• Several firms trimmed price targets (Barclays to $2,600, UBS to $2,700), yet consensus remains a Moderate Buy—one Strong Buy, fifteen Buy and three Hold ratings—with an average price target of $2,762.

Atika Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 20.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,930 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,070 shares during the quarter. MercadoLibre accounts for 1.5% of Atika Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Atika Capital Management LLC's holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $18,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MELI. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 124 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MercadoLibre by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in MercadoLibre by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 147 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC now owns 226 shares of the company's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 4.0% in the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 131 shares of the company's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MELI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Dbs Bank raised MercadoLibre from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2,762.00.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

NASDAQ MELI opened at $1,766.10 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $2,008.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $2,127.73. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,654.24 and a 52 week high of $2,645.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.82, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.48.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $11.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $11.66 by ($0.63). The business had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.45 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 33.73% and a net margin of 6.91%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 44.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $12.61 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MercadoLibre

In other news, Director Henrique Vasoncelos Dubugras sold 845 shares of MercadoLibre stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,028.14, for a total transaction of $1,713,778.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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