USS Investment Management Ltd Purchases 18,188 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd increased its MercadoLibre stake by 116.2% in the first quarter, buying 18,188 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 33,838 shares worth about $58.5 million.
• MercadoLibre reported Q1 EPS of $8.23, missing analysts’ estimate of $8.75, even as revenue rose 49% year over year to $8.85 billion and topped expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but positive overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $2,255.33 despite recent downgrades from firms like Daiwa and Citigroup.

USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 116.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,838 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,188 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd owned about 0.07% of MercadoLibre worth $58,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MELI. Interchange Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in MercadoLibre by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 243 shares of the company's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC now owns 176 shares of the company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company's stock worth $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 2.0% in the third quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 259 shares of the company's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MercadoLibre

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,355 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,867,505.15. This trade represents a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,697.39 on Wednesday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,495.00 and a 1-year high of $2,645.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,681.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,836.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.06 billion, a PE ratio of 44.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.36.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.75 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.MercadoLibre's quarterly revenue was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $1,800.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $2,150.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,780.00 to $2,380.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup cut MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $2,200.00 to $1,950.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre Company Profile

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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