MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI Stock: Ninety One UK Ltd Trims Stake

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its MercadoLibre stake by 80% in the third quarter, selling 15,305 shares and retaining 3,821 shares valued at approximately $6.6 million.
• Institutional investors own 87.62% of MercadoLibre, while several smaller investment firms established new positions in the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $2,251.88; MercadoLibre also reported quarterly revenue growth of 49.8% year over year and beat EPS expectations.

Ninety One UK Ltd cut its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 80.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,821 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,305 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $6,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MELI shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,150.00 to $2,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of MercadoLibre to $2,400.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of MercadoLibre from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $2,450.00 price target on the stock. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,251.88.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,856.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $94.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.50, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,862.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,783.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,495.00 and a 1-year high of $2,428.00.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $9.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.65 by $0.54. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 26.54% and a net margin of 5.30%. The business had revenue of $10.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 49.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 38.13 earnings per share for the current year.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre, Inc NASDAQ: MELI operates a technology platform serving commerce and financial-services customers across Latin America. Its online marketplace connects buyers and sellers, offering products across categories including electronics, apparel, home goods, automotive products and consumer packaged goods.

The company also provides a range of supporting services, including Mercado Pago, a digital payments platform that enables online and in-person transactions, money transfers and other financial services.

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