Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 1.2% during Q1, owning 208,190 shares valued at approximately $406 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly boosted their positions in MercadoLibre, including Capital International Investors and Assenagon Asset Management, raising their stakes by over 38% and 170%, respectively.
• Despite missing earnings per share estimates, MercadoLibre reported a revenue increase of 33.8% year-over-year, totaling $6.79 billion for the quarter.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,190 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of MercadoLibre worth $406,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in MercadoLibre in the first quarter worth $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Close Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 366.7% in the 1st quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 14 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company's stock.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 3.1%

MELI stock traded up $72.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2,392.30. 411,196 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 363,335. The firm has a market cap of $121.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.46. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,646.00 and a 1-year high of $2,645.22. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $2,414.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,263.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.20.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MELI. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $3,500.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $2,800.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $2,875.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $2,975.00 price target (up previously from $2,840.00) on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,795.00.

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.