Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Major Shareholder Purchases $18,673.23 in Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) major shareholder Peter Kellogg purchased 23,637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $0.79 per share, for a total transaction of $18,673.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,162,231 shares in the company, valued at $918,162.49. This trade represents a 2.08% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Mercer International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MERC traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $0.65. 1,761,087 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 599,197. The stock has a market cap of $43.37 million, a P/E ratio of -0.08 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $0.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58. Mercer International Inc. has a 12-month low of $0.58 and a 12-month high of $4.47.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MERC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercer International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Mercer International from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. TD decreased their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $1.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in Mercer International in the 2nd quarter worth $244,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Mercer International by 340.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 period. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the second quarter valued at about $1,804,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 16.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 994,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 137,906 shares in 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.