IFM Investors Pty Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 1.4%, owning a total of 8,581 shares valued at approximately $16.74 million.
• MercadoLibre reported a 33.8% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $10.31, missing analysts' expectations of $12.01.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for MercadoLibre, with one "Strong Buy," fourteen "Buys," and a target price consensus of $2,817.22.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd trimmed its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,581 shares of the company's stock after selling 123 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $16,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in MercadoLibre during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Close Asset Management Ltd boosted 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 purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted 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 purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MELI. Barclays lowered their price target on MercadoLibre from $3,100.00 to $3,000.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $2,875.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wedbush set a $2,700.00 target price on MercadoLibre and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on MercadoLibre in a report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $3,500.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,817.22.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2,339.36. The company had a trading volume of 571,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 332,402. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,646.00 and a twelve month high of $2,645.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $118.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.49. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $2,384.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,306.83.

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

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.