MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Stock Price Down 6.8% – Here’s Why

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)’s stock price dropped 6.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $1,896.00 and last traded at $1,906.17. Approximately 321,811 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 380,206 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2,045.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MercadoLibre from $1,950.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,200.00 to $2,100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,200.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, New Street Research upgraded MercadoLibre from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $2,000.00 to $2,300.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $2,402.81.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $101.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.16, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,936.73 and its 200 day moving average is $1,970.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $12.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $2.40. The firm had revenue of $6.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 51.89% and a net margin of 9.20%. On average, equities research analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre during the third quarter worth approximately $114,417,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 59,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,948,000 after purchasing an additional 10,272 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 205.5% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 26,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,923,000 after purchasing an additional 17,677 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in MercadoLibre by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 157,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,897,000 after purchasing an additional 43,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 40.0% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,598,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.