MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Upgraded by DZ Bank to Buy

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) was upgraded by research analysts at DZ Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $1,685.00 price target on the stock. DZ Bank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 23.15% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MELI. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,990.00 to $1,940.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,850.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $2,000.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,000.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,000.00 to $1,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,804.64.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MELI opened at $1,368.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. MercadoLibre has a 12 month low of $1,063.02 and a 12 month high of $1,825.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,552.54 and its 200-day moving average is $1,528.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.37 billion, a PE ratio of 70.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.44.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by ($3.41). The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 39.07% and a net margin of 6.82%. MercadoLibre’s revenue was up 42.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.25 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre will post 35.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MercadoLibre

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley increased its position in MercadoLibre by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,558,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,243,832,000 after acquiring an additional 236,744 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 1.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,233,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,831,721,000 after purchasing an additional 28,095 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in MercadoLibre by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,162,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,838,964,000 after purchasing an additional 497,535 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in MercadoLibre by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,037,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,630,740,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 750,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,179,787,000 after buying an additional 88,359 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre, Inc operates online commerce platforms in the United States. It operates Mercado Libre Marketplace, an automated online commerce platform that enables businesses, merchants, and individuals to list merchandise and conduct sales and purchases digitally; 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.