MercadoLibre climbs after Citigroup upgrades to 'buy'
BUZZ-MercadoLibre climbs after Citigroup upgrades to 'buy' ** Latin America-based e-commerce firm MercadoLibre MELI.O up 2.65% at $1712.93 premarket
** Citigroup upgrades stock to "buy" from "neutral", cuts PT to $2050 from $2100, representing a nearly 23% upside to the stock's last close
** Brokerage says despite its below consensus 2027-2028 forecasts and macro backdrop, MELI's growth continues to outpace local consumer markets, supporting confidence in its long-term outlook
** Citi's rating action comes a day after US-listed shares of Brazilian companies including MELI fell sharply on Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's surprise election win
** "We believe the recent share-price weakness creates an attractive entry point," Citi said in a note
** 19 of 24 analysts covering the stock rate it "buy" or "strong buy"; and the rest rate it "hold"; median price target on MELI $2,240 - LSEG data
** Stock has dipped about 17.15% YTD vs a 12.6% rise for the Nasdaq .IXIC
(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty in Bengaluru)