Cantor Fitzgerald Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Stock

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $2,150.00 to $3,000.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price suggests a potential upside of 31.43% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. New Street Research upgraded MercadoLibre from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $2,000.00 to $2,300.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,250.00 to $2,200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,200.00 to $2,100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,364.06.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded up $172.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2,282.59. 762,044 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 355,920. The stock has a market cap of $115.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.90, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. MercadoLibre has a twelve month low of $1,324.99 and a twelve month high of $2,374.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,858.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,952.94.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $12.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $2.40. The business had revenue of $6.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 40.71% and a net margin of 7.57%. On average, research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre will post 32.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MercadoLibre

In related news, Director Emiliano Calemzuk sold 50 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,984.98, for a total transaction of $99,249.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,425.24. The trade was a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MercadoLibre

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd acquired a new position in MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.