MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $2,850.00 to $2,950.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 27.27% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank assumed coverage on MercadoLibre in a report on Monday, July 28th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $3,500.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $2,750.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $3,000.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,875.00 to $2,780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,822.35.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded down $9.44 during trading on Monday, reaching $2,317.82. 282,594 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 410,111. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.51 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. MercadoLibre has a 52 week low of $1,646.00 and a 52 week high of $2,645.22. The company’s 50 day moving average is $2,310.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,374.68.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $8.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.88 by ($1.56). The company had revenue of $7.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 41.35% and a net margin of 7.93%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MercadoLibre will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ninety One North America Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 6,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in MercadoLibre by 221.9% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in MercadoLibre during the first quarter worth about $203,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,235,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,228,460,000 after purchasing an additional 81,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 434.3% in the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.