Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Acquires Shares of 4,740 MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Key Points

• Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre, purchasing 4,740 shares valued at approximately $9.25 million, making it the firm's 26th largest position.
• MercadoLibre recently saw its stock rating fluctuate, with Wall Street analysts offering varied opinions; while one analyst maintained a "buy" rating, others downgraded their outlook to "hold" or "cautious."
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $9.74, surpassing estimates, and a revenue increase of 37% compared to the same quarter last year.

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC bought a new stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,247,000. MercadoLibre comprises approximately 1.5% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,415,815 shares of the company's stock worth $4,108,079,000 after acquiring an additional 179,807 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,687,114 shares of the company's stock worth $2,868,869,000 after buying an additional 470,829 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,568,602 shares of the company's stock worth $2,667,386,000 after buying an additional 308,973 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,394,255 shares of the company's stock worth $2,370,848,000 after buying an additional 405,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,154,116 shares of the company's stock worth $2,251,531,000 after buying an additional 18,731 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MELI shares. UBS Group set a $3,000.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Monday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,640.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Monday. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $3,500.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,100.00 to $3,000.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,700.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,690.29.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ MELI traded up $21.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $2,375.26. 113,561 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 390,425. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,579.78 and a 52-week high of $2,645.22. The firm has a market cap of $120.43 billion, a PE ratio of 58.37, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,471.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,212.78. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $9.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.82 by $1.92. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.55 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 48.46%. MercadoLibre's revenue was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.