Sapient Capital LLC Lowers Stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Sapient Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 992 shares of the company’s stock after selling 328 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $1,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in MercadoLibre in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in MercadoLibre during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Markowski Investments bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MELI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MercadoLibre from $1,900.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of MercadoLibre to $2,400.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday. New Street Research started coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,450.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,150.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MercadoLibre has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,251.88.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MELI traded down $16.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,856.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 273,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.10. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,495.00 and a 52 week high of $2,428.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,864.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,774.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.13 billion, a PE ratio of 50.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.31.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $9.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.65 by $0.54. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 26.54% and a net margin of 5.30%.The company had revenue of $10.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 49.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 38.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre, Inc (NASDAQ:MELI) operates a technology platform serving commerce and financial-services customers across Latin America. Its online marketplace connects buyers and sellers, offering products across categories including electronics, apparel, home goods, automotive products and consumer packaged goods.

The company also provides a range of supporting services, including Mercado Pago, a digital payments platform that enables online and in-person transactions, money transfers and other financial services.