MercadoLibre slides as margin worries resurface after fresh price-target cut and higher Argentina spending plans

MercadoLibre (MELI) is down 6.1% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The drop looks tied to renewed concerns that near-term profitability could stay under pressure as the company continues to invest heavily. A recent analyst price-target reduction that leaned on a softer margin outlook, plus headlines around stepped-up spending in Argentina, may have contributed to risk-off trading in the name.

Details:

An analyst maintained a positive rating but lowered its price target and reduced its 2026 profitability expectations, citing seasonality, credit-card related dynamics, and sales-and-marketing commentary that implied lower margins.

MercadoLibre’s CEO discussed plans to invest $3.4 billion in Argentina this year, a sizable increase versus the prior year’s investment plan, which could reinforce investor focus on spending levels.

After a volatile post-earnings period, the stock appears to be reacting more to the “margin path” debate than to top-line growth, with incremental news flow acting as a catalyst for de-risking.

This could also be amplified by broader risk appetite shifting away from high-beta growth and emerging-market exposures during the session.

Sources:

Investing.com, MarketScreener, Infobae

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$MELI Insider Trading Activity

$MELI insiders have traded $MELI stock on the open market 4 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 3 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $MELI stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

HENRIQUE VASONCELOS DUBUGRAS sold 845 shares for an estimated $1,713,778
STELLEO TOLDA sold 246 shares for an estimated $503,778
MARCELO MELAMUD (SVP - Chief Accounting Officer) purchased 57 shares for an estimated $100,078
EMILIANO CALEMZUK sold 45 shares for an estimated $91,231

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$MELI Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 747 institutional investors add shares of $MELI stock to their portfolio, and 756 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC removed 1,327,972 shares (-74.3%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $2,674,880,880
VIRTUE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC added 1,267,219 shares (+33234.2%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $2,552,508,542
FMR LLC removed 881,886 shares (-63.1%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $1,776,347,694
JENNISON ASSOCIATES LLC removed 716,487 shares (-66.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $1,443,191,104
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO removed 494,084 shares (-27.8%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $995,213,637
EAGLE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC added 411,549 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $828,966,688
CAPITAL RESEARCH GLOBAL INVESTORS added 408,939 shares (+22.5%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $823,709,470

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$MELI Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $MELI stock 7 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 4 have been purchases and 3 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $MELI stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

REPRESENTATIVE GILBERT RAY CISNEROS, JR. has traded it 4 times. They made 3 purchases worth up to $45,000 on 01/30, 11/18, 10/17 and 1 sale worth up to $15,000 on 12/24.
REPRESENTATIVE JONATHAN L. JACKSON sold up to $50,000 on 12/10.
REPRESENTATIVE MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE purchased up to $15,000 on 10/24.
REPRESENTATIVE VAL T. HOYLE sold up to $15,000 on 09/23.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard.

$MELI Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $MELI in the last several months. We have seen 9 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

BTIG issued a "Buy" rating on 02/25/2026
JP Morgan issued a "Overweight" rating on 02/12/2026
Wedbush issued a "Outperform" rating on 12/19/2025
UBS issued a "Buy" rating on 11/24/2025
Morgan Stanley issued a "Overweight" rating on 11/03/2025
Cantor Fitzgerald issued a "Overweight" rating on 10/30/2025
Benchmark issued a "Buy" rating on 10/30/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $MELI, check out Quiver Quantitative's $MELI forecast page.

$MELI Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $MELI recently. We have seen 10 analysts offer price targets for $MELI in the last 6 months, with a median target of $2650.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Andrew Ruben from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $2600.0 on 03/09/2026
Marcelo Santos from JP Morgan set a target price of $2650.0 on 03/02/2026
Marvin Fong from BTIG set a target price of $2650.0 on 02/25/2026
Deepak Mathivanan from Cantor Fitzgerald set a target price of $2400.0 on 02/25/2026
Trevor Young from Barclays set a target price of $2600.0 on 02/25/2026
Scott Devitt from Wedbush set a target price of $2400.0 on 02/25/2026
Kaio Prato from UBS set a target price of $2900.0 on 11/24/2025

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.