Raymond James Financial Inc. Raises Stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 20.1% in Q1, acquiring an additional 8,274 shares for a total of 49,517 shares valued at approximately $96.6 million.
• Despite reporting earnings per share of $10.31, MercadoLibre missed analysts' expectations of $12.01, though its revenue grew by 33.8% year-over-year to $6.79 billion.
• Current analyst ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" for MercadoLibre, with target prices ranging from $2,850 to $3,000.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,517 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,274 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of MercadoLibre worth $96,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the first quarter worth $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the first quarter worth $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 366.7% during the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 14 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

MercadoLibre Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded down $22.3850 during trading on Monday, hitting $2,408.2350. The company had a trading volume of 71,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,714. The stock has a market cap of $122.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.46. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a one year low of $1,646.00 and a one year high of $2,645.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2,411.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2,277.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.57 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 43.06%. MercadoLibre's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MELI shares. Scotiabank started coverage on MercadoLibre in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $3,500.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wedbush set a $2,700.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $2,800.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $3,000.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,817.22.

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.