FORA Capital LLC Makes New Investment in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,992,000. MercadoLibre comprises about 1.3% of FORA Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 185.7% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Sageworth Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. 80.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,575.00 to $1,625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. TheStreet downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, July 10th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Monday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,500.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,400.00 to $1,300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,910.00 to $2,180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,645.00.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of MercadoLibre stock traded up $49.28 on Friday, reaching $1,421.64. The stock had a trading volume of 549,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,944. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1 year low of $754.76 and a 1 year high of $1,421.93. The company has a market cap of $71.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,229.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,234.62.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.13 by $1.03. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 39.07%. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 20.56 EPS for the current year.

MercadoLibre Profile

MercadoLibre, Inc operates online commerce platforms in Latin America. It operates Mercado Libre Marketplace, an automated online commerce platform that enables businesses, merchants, and individuals to list merchandise and conduct sales and purchases online; and Mercado Pago FinTech platform, a financial technology solution platform, which facilitates transactions on and off its marketplaces by providing a mechanism that allows its users to send and receive payments online, as well as allows users to transfer money through their websites or on the apps.