MercadoLibre (MELI) closed at $1,934.03 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.99% move from the prior day. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.67% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.87%.
The operator of an online marketplace and payments system in Latin America's stock has dropped by 7.03% in the past month, falling short of the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 6.91% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.28%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of MercadoLibre in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect MercadoLibre to post earnings of $7.82 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 15.34%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.5 billion, up 27% from the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $47.50 per share and a revenue of $25.89 billion, representing changes of +26.03% and +24.59%, respectively, from the prior year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for MercadoLibre. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.09% higher. MercadoLibre is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Looking at its valuation, MercadoLibre is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 40.32. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 21.53.
Investors should also note that MELI has a PEG ratio of 1.08 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Internet - Commerce industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.33.
The Internet - Commerce industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 75, this industry ranks in the top 31% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
