Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Major Shareholder Buys $86,000.00 in Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) major shareholder Peter Kellogg bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $0.86 per share, with a total value of $86,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,057,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $909,020. The trade was a 10.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Mercer International Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MERC stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $0.94. 714,392 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,853. The stock has a market cap of $62.96 million, a PE ratio of -0.12 and a beta of 0.53. Mercer International Inc. has a one year low of $0.75 and a one year high of $4.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.74.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.78) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.74) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $489.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $493.00 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 136.20% and a negative net margin of 28.51%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mercer International Inc. will post -2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MERC. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Mercer International in the second quarter valued at about $244,000. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in Mercer International by 340.6% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 276,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 214,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mercer International by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 14,603 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the second quarter worth about $1,804,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 16.1% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 994,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,866,000 after acquiring an additional 137,906 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MERC. TD Securities downgraded Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. TD dropped their target price on Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen downgraded Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $2.00 to $2.25 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Mercer International from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $1.85.

Mercer International Company Profile

Mercer International Inc is a publicly traded pulp producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol MERC, the company specializes in the manufacture of Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp and dissolving pulp for use in tissue, specialty paper and textile applications.

Mercer’s core business activities include the operation of integrated pulp mills in North America and Europe. Its production portfolio encompasses NBSK pulp, renowned for its strength and versatility, and dissolving pulp, which serves as a key raw material in the manufacture of viscose, cellulose acetate and other specialty products.

The company’s facilities are located in British Columbia and the U.S.