Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its MercadoLibre stake by 34% in the first quarter, buying 5,922 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 23,351 shares worth about $40.4 million.
• Institutional interest in MercadoLibre remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning 87.62% of the company; several firms also boosted their positions during the quarter.
• Analysts are still mostly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $2,258.67, even though MercadoLibre recently missed EPS expectations while posting 49% revenue growth year over year.

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 34.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,351 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,922 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $40,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PBCay One RSC Ltd lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 136.9% in the first quarter. PBCay One RSC Ltd now owns 38,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,899,000 after acquiring an additional 22,359 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 20.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 126,189 shares of the company's stock worth $218,184,000 after buying an additional 21,130 shares during the last quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 16.3% in the first quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC now owns 7,921 shares of the company's stock worth $13,696,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in MercadoLibre by 19.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,938,000 after buying an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. grew its position in MercadoLibre by 11.3% during the first quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 157,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,846,000 after buying an additional 16,019 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,355 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,867,505.15. This represents a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $2,150.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Scotiabank decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,050.00 to $1,750.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised MercadoLibre from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,258.67.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,801.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.54, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,495.00 and a 12 month high of $2,548.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,705.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,815.81.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.75 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.29 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The company's revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current 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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