SWS Partners Sells 426 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• SWS Partners reduced its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 29.9%, selling 426 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 997 shares valued at approximately $1.95 million.
• Banco Santander significantly increased its position in MercadoLibre by 221.9%, with total holdings now at 2,746 shares valued at about $5.36 million.
• Market analysts maintain a positive outlook on MercadoLibre, with a consensus average target price of $2,817.22 and several analysts issuing "buy" ratings despite the recent earnings miss.

SWS Partners cut its holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 29.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 997 shares of the company's stock after selling 426 shares during the quarter. SWS Partners' holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $1,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 221.9% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893 shares during the period. Prospect Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC now owns 340 shares of the company's stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Avant Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $439,000. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MELI shares. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $2,875.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,850.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on MercadoLibre in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $3,500.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush set a $2,700.00 price target on MercadoLibre and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $3,000.00 price target for the company. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,817.22.

MercadoLibre Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:MELI opened at $2,348.99 on Thursday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,646.00 and a twelve month high of $2,645.22. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $2,391.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2,304.11. The company has a market cap of $119.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.49.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.06% and a net margin of 8.52%.The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.48 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS 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.

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