SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $3.93 Million in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,933,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 3rd quarter valued at $114,417,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 59,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,948,000 after acquiring an additional 10,272 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 205.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 26,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,923,000 after acquiring an additional 17,677 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in MercadoLibre by 37.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 40.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MELI shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,350.00 to $2,760.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,950.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,150.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $2,402.81.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of MELI stock traded up $52.90 on Wednesday, reaching $2,112.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 333,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,063. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,324.99 and a 12-month high of $2,374.54. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,923.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,968.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $107.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.04, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.62.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $12.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $2.40. The company had revenue of $6.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.94 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 51.89%. As a group, equities analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.