Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 25,797 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC cut its MercadoLibre stake by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 25,797 shares and leaving it with 50,248 shares worth about $101.2 million.
• Several other major institutional investors increased their holdings, and institutions now own 87.62% of MercadoLibre’s stock, showing continued strong professional ownership despite the sale.
• Analysts have turned more cautious: multiple firms lowered price targets, and Citigroup downgraded the stock to neutral, though the overall consensus remains Moderate Buy with an average target of $2,255.33.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lessened its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 33.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,248 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,797 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.10% of MercadoLibre worth $101,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MELI. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company's stock worth $4,481,812,000 after acquiring an additional 408,939 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 296,543 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter worth approximately $597,045,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in MercadoLibre by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,481,563 shares of the company's stock worth $7,012,773,000 after buying an additional 164,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in MercadoLibre by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,725,125 shares of the company's stock worth $3,474,880,000 after buying an additional 118,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 research report on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,780.00 to $2,380.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $2,200.00 to $1,950.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,589.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $1,715.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,873.83.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.75 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.74 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MercadoLibre

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

MercadoLibre 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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