MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Given Hold Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $2,800.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $2,450.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.45% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MELI. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,350.00 to $2,760.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,250.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Benchmark cut shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,000.00 to $2,400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,588.00.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 0.3%

MELI stock traded up $7.78 during trading on Thursday, hitting $2,581.74. 238,517 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 380,910. MercadoLibre has a 1 year low of $1,550.00 and a 1 year high of $2,635.88. The firm's 50 day moving average is $2,264.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,053.04. The stock has a market cap of $130.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $9.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.82 by $1.92. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.55 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 51.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre will post 43.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MELI. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the first quarter worth $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the first quarter worth $25,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.