Nicholas Investment Partners LP Lowers Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Nicholas Investment Partners LP trimmed its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 64.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 470 shares of the company’s stock after selling 854 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hardy Reed LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 4.0% in the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 35.7% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Capital Management Co. grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,780.00 to $2,380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Itau BBA Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $2,200.00 to $1,950.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $1,900.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

MELI opened at $1,589.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,495.00 and a 52-week high of $2,645.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,715.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,873.83. The company has a market cap of $80.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.36.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.75 by ($0.52). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The business had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.74 earnings per share. MercadoLibre’s quarterly revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MercadoLibre

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin bought 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,867,505.15. This trade represents a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre 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.