MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its target price for MercadoLibre's stock from $2,600 to $2,700, indicating a potential upside of 15.50% from its current price.
• MercadoLibre's earnings report showed a miss in EPS at $10.31 against an estimated $12.01, despite revenue increasing by 33.8% year-over-year to $6.79 billion.
• Analyst ratings for MercadoLibre are predominantly positive, with 14 out of 18 analysts giving it a buy rating and an average target price of $2,795.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $2,600.00 to $2,700.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.50% from the company's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $2,800.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,640.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on MercadoLibre in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $3,500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $2,750.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,795.00.

MercadoLibre Trading Up 0.9%

MELI traded up $20.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $2,337.75. The stock had a trading volume of 304,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,115. 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 has a 1-year low of $1,646.00 and a 1-year high of $2,645.22. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $2,445.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,234.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.46.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.57 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 46.11% and a net margin of 8.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre will post 43.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MELI. Midwest Trust Co bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 2nd quarter worth about $429,000. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 640 shares of the company's stock worth $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 10,270 shares of the company's stock worth $26,842,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 46.4% in the second quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 202 shares of the company's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, GS Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 4.9% during the second quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 1,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,646,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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