MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Earns Buy Rating from Benchmark

Key Points

• MercadoLibre's stock (NASDAQ:MELI) received a "buy" rating from Benchmark with a price target of $2,875.00, indicating a potential upside of 33.41% from its previous close.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a quarterly EPS of $10.31, missing estimates, but revenue increased by 33.8% year-on-year to $6.79 billion.
• Institutional investors now own 87.62% of MercadoLibre's stock, reflecting strong confidence in the company's future prospects.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by investment analysts at Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $2,875.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark's target price points to a potential upside of 33.41% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MELI. Scotiabank assumed coverage on MercadoLibre in a report on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $3,500.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $2,800.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $2,750.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on MercadoLibre from $3,000.00 to $2,800.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,799.12.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded up $52.98 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $2,155.09. 89,907 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 404,818. The stock has a market cap of $109.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.46. MercadoLibre has a fifty-two week low of $1,646.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,645.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2,332.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2,354.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $12.01 by ($1.70). The company 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%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MercadoLibre

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Key Financial Inc acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in MercadoLibre in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 366.7% in the first 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. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 650.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 15 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in MercadoLibre in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.