MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) Stock Holdings Lowered by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 10.5% in the first quarter, leaving them with a position valued at $14.98 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased or acquired new stakes in MercadoLibre, contributing to institutional investors owning 87.62% of the stock.
• MercadoLibre recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $9.74, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a 37.0% revenue growth year over year.

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,682 shares of the company's stock after selling 901 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $14,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MELI. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 366.7% in the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 14 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MercadoLibre stock traded up $17.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $2,334.82. The company had a trading volume of 352,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,703. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.20. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,646.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,645.22. The firm's fifty day moving average is $2,445.98 and its 200-day moving average is $2,234.89. The company has a market cap of $118.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.46.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 earnings per share 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 46.11%. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MELI. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $2,875.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $2,750.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $2,700.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,640.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.