The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 12.2% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to $48.37 million.
• MercadoLibre reported a profit of $10.31 EPS for the quarter, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $12.01 by $1.70, despite achieving a revenue of $6.79 billion that exceeded expectations.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on MercadoLibre, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,817.22 for the stock.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,793 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,433 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $48,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 170.9% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 274,960 shares of the company's stock worth $536,411,000 after purchasing an additional 173,449 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 22.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 570,967 shares of the company's stock worth $1,113,881,000 after purchasing an additional 104,554 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 23.5% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 461,875 shares of the company's stock worth $901,058,000 after purchasing an additional 87,912 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the first quarter worth about $143,367,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 18.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 450,444 shares of the company's stock worth $878,757,000 after purchasing an additional 70,834 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

MELI traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $2,417.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 493,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 300,482. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,646.00 and a twelve month high of $2,645.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $2,402.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,299.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.49.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $6.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MELI shares. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $2,975.00 price target (up from $2,840.00) on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $3,000.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.