Meitav Investment House Ltd. Buys 1,762 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 64.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,505 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $7,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MELI. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded up $12.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,818.61. The stock had a trading volume of 101,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 560,014. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,674.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,831.70. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,495.00 and a twelve month high of $2,548.50. The firm has a market cap of $92.20 billion, a PE ratio of 48.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.75 by ($0.52). MercadoLibre had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The firm had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,867,505.15. The trade was a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,255.33.

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.