MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Hits New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to a neutral rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $2,100.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $2,650.00. MercadoLibre traded as low as $1,644.43 and last traded at $1,641.1030, with a volume of 579089 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,766.10.

MELI has been the subject of a number of other reports. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,750.00 to $2,650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wedbush cut their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research upgraded MercadoLibre from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,725.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Henrique Vasoncelos Dubugras sold 845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MercadoLibre

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highview Capital Management LLC DE bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the second quarter worth approximately $559,000. Weitz Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,647,000. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 126.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 11,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,886,000 after buying an additional 6,429 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 86,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,610,000 after buying an additional 10,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 48,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,414,000 after buying an additional 7,570 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Stock Down 7.1%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $2,008.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $2,127.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $83.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.48.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $11.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.66 by ($0.63). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 33.73% and a net margin of 6.91%.The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $12.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 44.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MercadoLibre Company 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.