Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Grows Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. increased its position in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 150.0% during the first quarter, owning 380 shares valued at $741,000.
• MercadoLibre's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $10.31, missing estimates by $1.70, despite a 33.8% year-over-year revenue increase to $6.79 billion.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for MELI, with an average target price of $2,795.00, and 14 analysts have assigned a buy rating on the stock.

Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 150.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 380 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. MercadoLibre comprises approximately 0.3% of Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.'s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Close Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in MercadoLibre by 366.7% in the 1st 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. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 650.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 15 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MELI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,850.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $2,750.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $3,000.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,640.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,817.22.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 4.0%

MercadoLibre stock traded up $93.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2,430.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 435,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,766. 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 capitalization of $123.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.03, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.46. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $2,410.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,270.62. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,646.00 and a 52-week high of $2,645.22.

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

MercadoLibre Profile

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.