MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Stock Price Up 8.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• MercadoLibre shares surged 8.5% to about $1,840.70, with trading volume roughly 31% above average.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,283.12; recent targets range as high as $2,450.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $9.19 in EPS and $10.17 billion in revenue, with revenue up 49.8% year over year. Institutional investors own approximately 87.6% of the stock.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) shares shot up 8.5% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $1,843.84 and last traded at $1,840.7010. Approximately 710,471 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 540,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,696.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MELI. New Street Research assumed coverage on MercadoLibre in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $2,450.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded MercadoLibre from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $2,150.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,150.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MercadoLibre from $1,900.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,283.12.

MercadoLibre Trading Up 9.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $94.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.41, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,863.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,769.78.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $9.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.65 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $10.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.79 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 26.54% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm's revenue was up 49.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 38.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MELI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in MercadoLibre in the second quarter worth $2,246,015,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 2nd quarter valued at about $917,123,000. Linonia Partnership LP raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 325.1% during the 2nd quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 553,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,994,000 after buying an additional 423,527 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,481,812,000 after buying an additional 408,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in MercadoLibre by 114.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 444,603 shares of the company's stock worth $768,728,000 after buying an additional 237,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

MercadoLibre Company Profile

MercadoLibre, Inc NASDAQ: MELI operates a technology platform serving commerce and financial-services customers across Latin America. Its online marketplace connects buyers and sellers, offering products across categories including electronics, apparel, home goods, automotive products and consumer packaged goods.

The company also provides a range of supporting services, including Mercado Pago, a digital payments platform that enables online and in-person transactions, money transfers and other financial services.

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