Insider Buying: Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Major Shareholder Buys 225,000 Shares of Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) major shareholder Peter Kellogg acquired 225,000 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.73 per share, with a total value of $389,250.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 1,320,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,283,600. This represents a 20.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Mercer International Stock Performance

MERC remained flat at $1.83 during trading on Tuesday. 494,305 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 515,128. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.30. Mercer International Inc. has a 52 week low of $1.48 and a 52 week high of $8.28. The stock has a market cap of $122.57 million, a P/E ratio of -0.71 and a beta of 0.76.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $458.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.70 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 37.38% and a negative net margin of 9.04%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MERC. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,804,000. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. lifted its position in Mercer International by 1.3% during the third quarter. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. now owns 16,700,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,096,000 after purchasing an additional 220,000 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted 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. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mercer International by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 994,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,866,000 after buying an additional 137,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $244,000. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MERC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Mercer International from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.50.

About Mercer International

Mercer International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) and northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Pulp and Solid Wood. It manufactures, sells, and distributes pulp, electricity, and chemicals through pulp mills.