MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Earns "Buy" Rating from Benchmark

Key Points

• Benchmark analysts have reaffirmed a "buy" rating for MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) with a price target of $2,875, indicating a potential upside of 23.57% from the prior close.
• The company's stock price decreased by 3.4% to $2,326.53, following a recent earnings report that missed consensus estimates.
• MercadoLibre has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," with 14 analysts

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Benchmark in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $2,875.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark's price target points to a potential upside of 23.28% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $3,000.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,250.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,700.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,795.00.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded down $2.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $2,332.06. 116,755 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 394,761. 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 has a one year low of $1,646.00 and a one year high of $2,645.22. The company has a market cap of $118.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2,441.77 and a 200 day moving average of $2,238.33.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $12.01 by ($1.70). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.06% and a net margin of 8.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre will post 43.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in MercadoLibre by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,415,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,108,079,000 after purchasing an additional 179,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,687,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,868,869,000 after purchasing an additional 470,829 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,568,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,667,386,000 after buying an additional 308,973 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in MercadoLibre by 41.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 7.0% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,235,240 shares of the company's stock worth $3,228,460,000 after buying an additional 81,124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.