In the latest trading session, MercadoLibre (MELI) closed at $2,268.49, marking a -1.16% move from the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.01%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.03%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.17%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the operator of an online marketplace and payments system in Latin America had gained 13.56% outpaced the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 4.91% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.78%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of MercadoLibre in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $11.66, signifying a 7.53% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $8.49 billion, indicating a 40.2% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $39.8 per share and a revenue of $28.63 billion, representing changes of +5.6% and 0%, 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 business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. MercadoLibre currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Digging into valuation, MercadoLibre currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 38.51. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 16.84.
We can additionally observe that MELI currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.14. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Internet - Commerce industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.14 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Internet - Commerce industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 193, finds itself in the bottom 22% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming 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
