Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Acquires 22 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,874 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $4,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in MercadoLibre by 221.9% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893 shares in the last quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in MercadoLibre by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Avant Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MELI opened at $2,339.36 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2,384.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $2,306.83. The company has a market cap of $118.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.78, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.20. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,646.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,645.22.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.01 by ($1.70). MercadoLibre had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 43.06%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MELI. Scotiabank began coverage on MercadoLibre in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $3,500.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $2,700.00 price target on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets began 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, UBS Group set a $3,000.00 price target on MercadoLibre in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,817.22.

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.