Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) to Buy

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $2,600.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $2,800.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 52.01% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MELI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut MercadoLibre from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $2,650.00 to $2,100.00 in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Itau BBA Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. BTIG Research cut their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,650.00 to $2,400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group cut their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,695.33.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,710.37 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,851.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,033.78. MercadoLibre has a twelve month low of $1,593.21 and a twelve month high of $2,645.22. The company has a market cap of $86.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.41, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $11.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.66 by ($0.63). MercadoLibre had a net margin of 6.91% and a return on equity of 33.73%. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $12.61 EPS. MercadoLibre’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MercadoLibre will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MercadoLibre

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MELI. Lavaca Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,481,812,000 after purchasing an additional 408,939 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 803.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 333,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,665,000 after purchasing an additional 296,543 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter valued at $597,045,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 184.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 311,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,083,000 after purchasing an additional 202,322 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.