TD Cuts Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target to $0.15

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its price target decreased by TD from $0.40 to $0.15 in a report released on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. TD’s target price points to a potential downside of 71.43% from the stock’s previous close.

MERC has been the topic of several other reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price objective on Mercer International from $1.50 to $1.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.75 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $1.13.

Mercer International Stock Down 11.6%

MERC stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $0.53. The stock had a trading volume of 678,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,925. The business has a 50-day moving average of $0.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $35.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.53. Mercer International has a 52-week low of $0.51 and a 52-week high of $3.38.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported ($1.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.95) by ($0.18). Mercer International had a negative net margin of 27.86% and a negative return on equity of 352.57%. The business had revenue of $460.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercer International

In other news, major shareholder Peter R. Kellogg acquired 380,000 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $0.96 per share, with a total value of $364,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,852,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,920. This trade represents a 25.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 1,383,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,264,565 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MERC. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in Mercer International in the 2nd quarter worth $244,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Mercer International in the 2nd quarter valued at $379,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Mercer International in the second quarter worth $798,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 340.6% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 276,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 214,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 14,603 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

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.