What happened
Shares of MercadoLibre (MELI 1.24%) were sliding today along with most high-growth tech stocks, even though there was no specific news on the Latin American e-commerce company. Instead, broader fears among investors amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine led to the stock falling again. One analyst also lowered his price target on MercadoLibre.
The stock closed down 5.2%, but recouped much of those losses in the after-hours session after its fourth-quarter earnings report came out.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
MercadoLibre has fallen sharply in recent months on concerns about a general slowdown in e-commerce as the global economy reopens as the pandemic eases. MercadoLibre's results have yet to show any significant challenges, but market sentiment has shifted against high-priced growth stocks due to fear of rising interest rates and now a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Today, the stock also got a price-target adjustment from Credit Suisse analyst Stephen Ju, who lowered his 12-month target from $2,200 to $1,675, though he maintained an outperform rating on the stock. Ju forecast just 8% year-over-year growth gross merchandise volume growth this year in Brazil, MercadoLibre's biggest market, and also said that adoption of the Central Bank of Brazil's new payment platform will likely lower MercadoLibre's take rate in the near term.
NASDAQ: MELI
Key Data Points
MercadoLibre was one of several high-priced tech stocks that were down sharply today as investors continue to flee safety in blue chip stocks over fears about rising interest rates and a possible war in Ukraine.
Now what
MercadoLibre reported fourth-quarter earnings after the bell, posting a 74% increase in currency-neutral revenue to $2.1 billion, beating estimates at $2.02 billion. However, on the bottom line, its per-share loss narrowed from $1.02 to $0.92, but that was well below the consensus of a per-share profit of $0.95. MercadoLibre's interest expense jumped in the quarter as it took on new debt and continued to invest in the business.
The stock was up 5% early in the after-hours session.
