Saudi Central Bank Acquires 1,510 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Saudi Central Bank increased its MercadoLibre stake by 89.7% in the second quarter, purchasing 1,510 additional shares for a total holding of 3,194 shares valued at approximately $5.42 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 87.62%, with major investors including Capital Research Global Investors, Capital International Investors, T. Rowe Price, BlackRock and Janus Henderson.
• MercadoLibre exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $9.19 in EPS and $10.17 billion in revenue, up 49.8% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $2,272.

Saudi Central Bank raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,194 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank's holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $5,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,481,812,000 after purchasing an additional 408,939 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,725,125 shares of the company's stock worth $3,474,880,000 after acquiring an additional 118,018 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,583,071 shares of the company's stock worth $3,188,718,000 after purchasing an additional 137,100 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in MercadoLibre during the 2nd quarter worth $2,246,015,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 1.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 614,238 shares of the company's stock worth $1,062,019,000 after buying an additional 10,142 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,978.36 on Monday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,495.00 and a 1 year high of $2,548.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1,859.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,769.45.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $9.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.65 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $10.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.79 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 26.54% and a net margin of 5.30%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 49.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 39.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,050.00 to $1,750.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,900.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,150.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,272.00.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre, Inc operates an integrated e-commerce and fintech ecosystem serving consumers and businesses across Latin America. The company provides an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers for a wide range of goods and services, supported by tools for merchants, advertising, and classifieds. Over time MercadoLibre has expanded beyond its marketplace roots into complementary areas that support digital commerce end to end.

Key offerings include its marketplace platform and a suite of logistics and payment services.

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