Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $5.86 Million Investment in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,862,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 53,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,900,000 after purchasing an additional 26,679 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the company's stock worth $1,964,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 89,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,237,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 178,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,716,000 after buying an additional 4,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 112,333.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 146,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,703,000 after acquiring an additional 146,034 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $1,850.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $2,000.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,990.00 to $1,940.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,000.00 to $1,800.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MercadoLibre has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,806.15.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of MercadoLibre stock traded up $29.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,507.56. 283,688 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 381,267. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.27. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,063.02 and a 1-year high of $1,825.00. The company has a market cap of $76.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.64, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $1,605.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,518.21.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.66 by ($3.41). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 39.07% and a net margin of 6.82%. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.25 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 42.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 35.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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.