Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Acquires New Stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group acquired a new position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,339,000. MercadoLibre makes up 7.3% of Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MELI. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 7.0% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,235,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,228,460,000 after purchasing an additional 81,124 shares during the period. Lavaca Capital LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,065,530 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 521,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,363,878,000 after acquiring an additional 74,201 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 271,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,535,000 after buying an additional 9,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $698,848,000. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MELI. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,975.00 to $2,900.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,875.00 to $2,780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,842.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Henrique Vasoncelos Dubugras sold 845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,028.14, for a total value of $1,713,778.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Emiliano Calemzuk sold 45 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,027.37, for a total value of $91,231.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 257 shares in the company, valued at $521,034.09. The trade was a 14.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,136 shares of company stock valued at $2,308,788 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MELI traded up $17.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $2,312.03. The company had a trading volume of 93,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,856. The company has a market capitalization of $117.22 billion, a PE ratio of 56.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $2,058.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2,219.38. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a one year low of $1,723.90 and a one year high of $2,645.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last issued 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 return on equity of 39.03% and a net margin of 7.93%.The business had revenue of $7.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About MercadoLibre

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.