MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI Shares Purchased by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. to $328.78 million by acquiring an additional 1,772 shares, bringing their total to approximately 168,527 shares.
• MercadoLibre has seen several institutional investors enhance their stakes, including Jennison Associates LLC and Invesco Ltd., with overall institutional ownership constituting 87.62% of the company's stock.
• Analysts remain optimistic about MercadoLibre's growth, with recent target prices raised significantly, including Goldman Sachs' increase from $2,640 to $3,000 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,527 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.33% of MercadoLibre worth $328,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 1,131.1% in the 1st quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 7,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,074,000 after buying an additional 6,628 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Night Squared LP purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,444,000. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of MercadoLibre stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $2,417.49. 493,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 388,226. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2,404.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,297.62. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,646.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,645.22.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $12.01 by ($1.70). The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter last year, the company posted $10.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $3,000.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wedbush set a $2,700.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $2,700.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $2,800.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,817.22.

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.