Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Grows Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 79.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 699 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 309 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $1,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MELI. Lavaca Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 140,201.3% during the 2nd quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 1,066,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,786,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,530 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MercadoLibre during the second quarter valued at approximately $698,848,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 304.7% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 255,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $666,744,000 after purchasing an additional 192,071 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 155.3% in the second quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 147,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,775,000 after purchasing an additional 90,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 7.0% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $2,750.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $3,000.00 to $2,900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings cut MercadoLibre from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,842.94.

Insider Activity at MercadoLibre

In related news, Director Stelleo Tolda sold 246 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,047.88, for a total value of $503,778.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Henrique Vasoncelos Dubugras sold 845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,028.14, for a total value of $1,713,778.30. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,136 shares of company stock valued at $2,308,788. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Trading Down 1.1%

MELI stock opened at $2,075.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2,049.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,237.17. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,723.90 and a fifty-two week high of $2,645.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $105.20 billion, a PE ratio of 50.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.42.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $8.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.88 by ($1.56). MercadoLibre had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 39.03%. The business had revenue of $7.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.83 EPS. MercadoLibre’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MercadoLibre Profile

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.