Meitav Investment House Ltd. Has $7.79 Million Stock Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its MercadoLibre stake by 64.2% in the first quarter, adding 1,762 shares to bring its total to 4,505 shares worth about $7.79 million.
• MercadoLibre remains heavily owned by institutions, with 87.62% of shares held by institutional investors. Several large funds also boosted positions, including Baillie Gifford, Capital Research Global Investors, and Price T Rowe Associates.
• Analysts are still broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $2,255.33, though some firms recently trimmed targets after mixed earnings results.

Meitav Investment House Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 64.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,505 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,762 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd.'s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $7,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in MercadoLibre by 4.9% in the 4th 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. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,481,812,000 after buying an additional 408,939 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 1.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,740,129 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,067,194,000 after buying an additional 22,659 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,725,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,474,880,000 after buying an additional 118,018 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,583,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,188,718,000 after buying an additional 137,100 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MELI. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised MercadoLibre from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $1,900.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $2,000.00 price objective on MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $2,100.00 price objective on MercadoLibre in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MELI traded up $12.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,818.61. 101,600 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 560,014. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,495.00 and a 12 month high of $2,548.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1,674.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,831.70. The firm has a market cap of $92.20 billion, a PE ratio of 48.01, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.35.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.29 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 cost of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,355 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,867,505.15. This represents a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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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