Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Makes New $13.11 Million Investment in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. has made a new investment of approximately $13.11 million in MercadoLibre, acquiring 6,722 shares during the first quarter.
• The company reported a 33.8% revenue increase year-over-year in its latest quarterly earnings, reaching $6.79 billion, although its EPS missed expectations.
• MercadoLibre's stock ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy", with an average price target of $2,817.22 from various analysts.

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,114,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MELI. Parkwood LLC grew its position in MercadoLibre by 69.9% in the first quarter. Parkwood LLC now owns 9,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,983,000 after purchasing an additional 3,792 shares in the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 1st quarter worth approximately $306,000. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 11,803 shares of the company's stock worth $23,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,651 shares of the company's stock worth $11,024,000 after buying an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in MercadoLibre by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 146,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,066,000 after purchasing an additional 13,349 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MELI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $2,875.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $2,750.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and issued a $2,975.00 target price (up from $2,840.00) on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $3,100.00 to $3,000.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,817.22.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of MELI stock opened at $2,417.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.20. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,646.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,645.22. The firm has a market cap of $122.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.49. The business's 50 day moving average price is $2,402.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $2,299.81.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.48 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

MercadoLibre Company 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.

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