Brown Advisory Inc. Raises Stock Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Brown Advisory Inc. massively increased its stake in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter, boosting holdings by 2,494.9% to 15,362 shares valued at about $30.9 million.
• Other institutional investors also made smaller additions, and overall 87.62% of MercadoLibre’s stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• MercadoLibre’s latest earnings showed revenue up 49% year over year, but EPS missed estimates; meanwhile, analysts still view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $2,255.33.

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 2,494.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,362 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,770 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $30,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hardy Reed LLC raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 131 shares of the company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 35.7% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 243 shares of the company's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC now owns 176 shares of the company's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Capital Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,542,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MercadoLibre

In related news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,867,505.15. The trade was a 12.62% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MercadoLibre Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of MELI stock opened at $1,646.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $83.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.45, a PEG ratio of 0.98 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 current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,714.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,870.00.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MELI shares. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $2,150.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,450.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of MercadoLibre from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2,255.33.

About MercadoLibre

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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