Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 414 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 1.2%, now owning 32,740 shares valued at approximately $63.87 million, which constitutes about 0.9% of their total portfolio.
• MercadoLibre reported strong quarterly results with earnings per share of $9.74, beating analysts' expectations of $7.82, and a revenue of $5.94 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 37%.
• Major analysts have varied ratings on MercadoLibre, with Goldman Sachs raising its target price to $3,000, while other firms have reduced their price targets, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,740 shares of the company's stock after selling 414 shares during the quarter. MercadoLibre makes up approximately 0.9% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of MercadoLibre worth $63,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MELI. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in MercadoLibre in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in MercadoLibre in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd bought a new position in MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in MercadoLibre by 366.7% in the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 14 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

Shares of MercadoLibre stock traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2,375.92. 375,200 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 389,332. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,646.00 and a 12-month high of $2,645.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.43, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2,458.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2,219.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $9.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.82 by $1.92. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 48.46% and a net margin of 9.21%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MELI. Benchmark downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,640.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,100.00 to $3,000.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,700.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,707.50.

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.