MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI Stake Increased by Samlyn Capital LLC

Key Points

• Samlyn Capital LLC increased its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 93.5% in Q1, now holding 64,301 shares valued at approximately $125.44 million.
• Recovery in the stock market has led to 87.62% of MercadoLibre's shares being owned by institutional investors, with many hedge funds increasing their stakes.
• Equities analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for MercadoLibre, with an average target price of $2,817.22.

Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 93.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,301 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 31,067 shares during the period. MercadoLibre makes up about 1.9% of Samlyn Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Samlyn Capital LLC owned about 0.13% of MercadoLibre worth $125,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the first quarter worth approximately $13,114,000. Parkwood LLC boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 69.9% during the first quarter. Parkwood LLC now owns 9,218 shares of the company's stock worth $17,983,000 after buying an additional 3,792 shares during the period. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the first quarter worth approximately $306,000. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 10.5% during the first quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 11,803 shares of the company's stock worth $23,026,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 18.4% during the first 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 period. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MELI shares. Wedbush set a $2,700.00 target price on MercadoLibre and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $2,800.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $2,875.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on 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 equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2,817.22.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MELI traded up $26.05 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $2,373.01. The company had a trading volume of 267,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,867. The company has a market cap of $120.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.61, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.49. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,646.00 and a 52 week high of $2,645.22. The business's 50-day moving average is $2,394.17 and its 200 day moving average is $2,303.80. 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 (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 quarterly revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.