Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock Price

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $2.00 to $1.25 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.92% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on MERC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen cut shares of Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $2.00 to $2.25 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.80.

Mercer International Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of MERC stock opened at $1.06 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58. The stock has a market cap of $71.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.14 and a beta of 0.77. Mercer International has a twelve month low of $1.00 and a twelve month high of $4.93.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($1.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.51). Mercer International had a negative net margin of 26.65% and a negative return on equity of 81.16%. The firm had revenue of $449.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $459.84 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mercer International will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mercer International by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 14,603 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International during the 2nd quarter worth $244,000. 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 worth $2,866,000 after buying an additional 137,906 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in Mercer International by 340.6% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. raised its stake in Mercer International by 1.3% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.