MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Stock Price Up 0.3% – Should You Buy?

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)’s stock price traded up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $2,047.98 and last traded at $2,044.01. 28,756 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 346,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2,038.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MELI. Dbs Bank upgraded MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. BTIG Research raised their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,025.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,175.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,180.00 to $2,480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,300.00 to $2,350.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,301.67.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $103.80 billion, a PE ratio of 73.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2,045.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,777.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $10.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $1.95. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.52% and a net margin of 8.03%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 37.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 12.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 845,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,278,738,000 after acquiring an additional 95,029 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in MercadoLibre by 442.2% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 794,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,201,679,000 after purchasing an additional 648,198 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 771,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,167,073,000 after purchasing an additional 232,787 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 55.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 368,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,225,000 after buying an additional 132,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 323,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,755,000 after buying an additional 11,265 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.