Scotiabank Has Lowered Expectations for MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Scotiabank cut its price target on MercadoLibre from $3,500 to $2,800 but kept a "sector outperform" rating, implying roughly a 50% upside from current levels.
• Several other brokers have also trimmed targets; the MarketBeat consensus target is about $2,638.67 and the average analyst rating is "Moderate Buy" (1 Strong Buy, 15 Buy, 2 Hold, 1 Sell).
• Shares trade near $1,860.87; MercadoLibre has a market cap of about $94.3B, a P/E of 47.2, and reported quarterly EPS of $11.03 on revenue of $8.76B.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Scotiabank from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sector outperform" rating on the stock. Scotiabank's price objective indicates a potential upside of 50.47% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on MELI. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $2,400.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,638.67.

MercadoLibre Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MELI traded up $19.73 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1,860.87. The stock had a trading volume of 445,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,310. The company's 50 day moving average price is $1,756.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,968.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.17. MercadoLibre has a twelve month low of $1,593.21 and a twelve month high of $2,645.22. The firm has a market cap of $94.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.41.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $11.03 earnings per share for the quarter. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 33.73% and a net margin of 6.91%.The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MercadoLibre will post 47.84 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MercadoLibre

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 760 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,483,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 42.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 602 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the second quarter worth about $261,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 21.4% in the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 170 shares of the company's stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre, Inc operates an integrated e-commerce and fintech ecosystem serving consumers and businesses across Latin America. The company provides an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers for a wide range of goods and services, supported by tools for merchants, advertising, and classifieds. Over time MercadoLibre has expanded beyond its marketplace roots into complementary areas that support digital commerce end to end.

Key offerings include its marketplace platform and a suite of logistics and payment services.

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