5 Best E-Commerce Stocks to Buy Now

3. Mercadolibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81

Mercadolibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) operates one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in Latin America and is placed third among the best e-commerce stocks to buy now. The company has a strong presence in 18 countries and has made several strategic moves to expand its presence in the Latin American market, including strategic acquisitions, launching new products and services, and entering new markets. The company is well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing digital transformation in the Latin American market, which is driving customers to shift more of their shopping online.

On October 6, Jefferies analyst John Colantuoni revised his price target on MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) to $970 from $990 and reiterated a Hold rating on the shares. On November 3, Citi analyst Joao Pedro Soares updated his price target on MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) to $1,050 from $1,150 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares.

At the end of Q3 2022, 81 hedge funds held stakes in Mercadolibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI). The total value of these stakes amounted to $3.25 billion, up from $2 billion in the previous quarter with 68 positions. The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is positive. As of September 30, Generation Investment Management is the largest shareholder in the company and has a position worth $565.5 million.

Here is what SaltLight Capital had to say about MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) in its third-quarter 2022 investor letter:

“Despite the economic slowdown in developed markets, our Latin American investment in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) had another outstanding third quarter growing revenues by 61% on a USD FX-neutral basis (GMV +32% FXN). Despite this strong growth, it also managed to expand operating profit margins to 11% (compare this to Amazon which is struggling to make a profit in its retail business).

LatAm’s e-commerce penetration is still very low compared to Asia and developed markets. MELI is mostly a marketplace but has also adopted models from elsewhere. In the recent past, it has built 3^rd party seller infrastructure that has made Amazon so successful, and it is also heavily investing in a mobile based fintech infrastructure very similar to ANT Group in China. After only launching a couple of quarters ago, their advertising business is already at 1.3% of Gross Merchandise Value.”