Sheets Smith Investment Management Acquires New Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Sheets Smith Investment Management has acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. during the 1st quarter, purchasing 677 shares valued at approximately $1,321,000, making it the firm's 20th largest position.
• Several institutional investors have also acquired new stakes in MercadoLibre, indicating increased interest, with institutional ownership reaching 87.62%.
• Despite missing earnings estimates for the quarter, MercadoLibre reported a strong year-over-year revenue growth of 33.8% with quarterly revenue of $6.79 billion.

Sheets Smith Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,321,000. MercadoLibre makes up about 1.3% of Sheets Smith Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in MercadoLibre during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in MercadoLibre during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Close Asset Management Ltd raised 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 acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in MercadoLibre by 650.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 15 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MELI shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $2,875.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $3,000.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $2,800.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wedbush set a $2,700.00 price target on MercadoLibre and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $3,000.00 price target on MercadoLibre in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2,817.22.

MercadoLibre Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MELI stock opened at $2,338.20 on Friday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,646.00 and a 12 month high of $2,645.22. The firm has a market cap of $118.54 billion, a PE ratio of 57.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2,388.33 and a 200-day moving average of $2,304.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $12.01 by ($1.70). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.06% and a net margin of 8.52%.The business had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current year.

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.

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