Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Has $9.37 Million Stock Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Banco BTG Pactual S.A. increased its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 75%, holding a total of 4,801 shares worth approximately $9.37 million, making it the firm's 10th largest position.
• Institutions own 87.62% of MercadoLibre's stock, with other hedge funds like Banco Santander S.A. and Prospect Financial Services LLC also significantly increasing their stakes during the same period.
• MercadoLibre reported earnings of $10.31 EPS, missing estimates, while revenues for the quarter were up 33.8% year-over-year, totaling $6.79 billion.

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 75.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,801 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,057 shares during the period. MercadoLibre accounts for about 2.3% of Banco BTG Pactual S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Banco BTG Pactual S.A.'s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $9,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,893 shares in the last quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC now owns 340 shares of the company's stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 3,249 shares of the company's stock worth $5,525,000 after buying an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avant Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

MercadoLibre Trading Up 4.0%

NASDAQ:MELI traded up $93.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2,430.62. 436,058 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 369,414. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2,411.33 and a 200 day moving average of $2,275.89. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,646.00 and a 12 month high of $2,645.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.03, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.46.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.48 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MELI. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $3,500.00 price target for the company. Wedbush set a $2,700.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. UBS Group set a $3,000.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $2,875.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2,817.22.

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.