MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $2,117.30, but opened at $1,920.00. MercadoLibre shares last traded at $1,787.03, with a volume of 840,993 shares.

The company reported $7.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.27 by ($3.44). The business had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.52% and a net margin of 8.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MELI. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,180.00 to $2,480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Dbs Bank raised MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut MercadoLibre from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2,400.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,250.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,300.00 to $2,350.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,301.67.

Institutional Trading of MercadoLibre

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MELI. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP grew its position in MercadoLibre by 3.6% during the third quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 5.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,430,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 4.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,784,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in MercadoLibre by 19.7% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Trading Down 14.2 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2,055.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,819.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.08 billion, a PE ratio of 65.79, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

MercadoLibre Company Profile

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.