MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. 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 changing hands.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MELI has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,250.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,250.00 to $2,200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2,400.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,309.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MercadoLibre

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 442.2% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 794,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,201,679,000 after buying an additional 648,198 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 205,108.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 248,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,506,000 after buying an additional 248,181 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 771,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,167,073,000 after buying an additional 232,787 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,913,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 368,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,225,000 after purchasing an additional 132,028 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $2,055.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,819.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $89.94 billion, a PE ratio of 64.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61.

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.