BTIG Research Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI)

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at BTIG Research in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $2,150.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research’s target price suggests a potential upside of 18.09% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MELI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $1,900.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Benchmark decreased their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,780.00 to $2,380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $2,000.00 price target on MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,050.00 to $1,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,820.69 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,747.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,797.03. MercadoLibre has a 52 week low of $1,495.00 and a 52 week high of $2,548.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.52, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $9.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.65 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $10.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.79 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 5.30%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.31 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin purchased 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at $8,867,505.15. This trade represents a 12.62% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MELI. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 2,494.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,943,000 after purchasing an additional 14,770 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 238.3% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association grew its position in MercadoLibre by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 11,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC increased its stake in MercadoLibre by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 7,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,641,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the period. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co increased its stake in MercadoLibre by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 3,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,446,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about MercadoLibre

Here are the key news stories impacting MercadoLibre this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations. Revenue increased 49.8% year over year to $10.17 billion, surpassing estimates of $9.79 billion, while earnings of $9.19 per share beat consensus. Growth was broad-based across commerce, fintech and advertising. MercadoLibre’s Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Engagement and ecosystem momentum remain strong. MercadoLibre surpassed $10 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, with record payment volumes, increased unique buyers and stronger interaction between its marketplace and financial-services products. Lowering Brazil’s free-shipping threshold reportedly converted monthly shoppers into more frequent users. Mercado Libre Free Shipping Converts Monthly Shoppers Into Daily Active Users
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive. Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target to $2,300 and maintained an overweight rating, while BTIG reaffirmed its buy rating with a $2,150 target. Analyst Rating and Price Target Updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is prioritizing long-term scale over near-term margins. Spending on free shipping, first-party inventory, credit-card issuance, artificial intelligence and lower-end customer acquisition is intended to deepen loyalty and expand MercadoLibre’s competitive moat. MercadoLibre Q2 Earnings Call Focuses on Engagement Over Margin
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability is the central concern. Margin compression, higher costs and rising nonperforming loans caused net profit to decline for a third consecutive quarter. Although management characterizes the pressure as strategic and temporary, investors appear concerned that reinvestment may take longer to translate into earnings and cash flow. MercadoLibre’s Net Profit Beats Estimates Despite Third Straight Decline

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.