Fisher Funds Management LTD Acquires 30,716 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Fisher Funds Management LTD increased its MercadoLibre stake by 646% in the first quarter, buying 30,716 additional shares and bringing its total to 35,471 shares worth about $61.3 million.
• MercadoLibre reported Q1 earnings of $8.23 per share, missing estimates, while revenue came in at $8.85 billion, beating expectations and rising 49% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly constructive on MELI, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $2,255.33, despite some mixed rating changes and lower targets from certain firms.

Fisher Funds Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 646.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,471 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 30,716 shares during the quarter. MercadoLibre comprises about 1.8% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Fisher Funds Management LTD owned 0.07% of MercadoLibre worth $61,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,481,812,000 after acquiring an additional 408,939 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 803.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 333,455 shares of the company's stock worth $671,665,000 after purchasing an additional 296,543 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter worth approximately $597,045,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 184.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 311,818 shares of the company's stock worth $628,083,000 after purchasing an additional 202,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,481,563 shares of the company's stock worth $7,012,773,000 after purchasing an additional 164,120 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of MercadoLibre stock opened at $1,635.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.16. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,495.00 and a 52-week high of $2,645.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $1,706.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,858.47.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.75 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $8.85 billion during 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 firm's quarterly 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. Equities research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MELI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $2,100.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Itau BBA Securities restated an "outperform" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2,255.33.

Insider Transactions at MercadoLibre

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,355 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,867,505.15. The trade was a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company 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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