Korea Investment CORP Reduces Stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has reduced its stake in MercadoLibre by 8.0%, holding approximately 0.09% of the company worth $85 million after selling shares in the first quarter.
• MercadoLibre reported earnings of $10.31 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates and marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 33.8%.
• Despite the missed earnings, several analysts remain positive on MercadoLibre, providing price targets ranging from $2,700.00 to $3,000.00 with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Korea Investment CORP lowered its holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,590 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,770 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of MercadoLibre worth $85,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in MercadoLibre during the first quarter worth $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in MercadoLibre during the first quarter worth $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Close Asset Management Ltd increased its position in MercadoLibre by 366.7% during the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 14 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in MercadoLibre by 650.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 15 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI opened at $2,392.30 on Monday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a one year low of $1,646.00 and a one year high of $2,645.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2,414.57 and a 200-day moving average of $2,263.57. The company has a market capitalization of $121.29 billion, a PE ratio of 59.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.20.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $12.01 by ($1.70). The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.57 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.06% and a net margin of 8.52%. The company's revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MELI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $2,700.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $2,800.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $2,875.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,640.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $3,000.00 price target on MercadoLibre in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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