Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MERC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD decreased their price objective on Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Mercer International from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $1.85.

Mercer International Stock Performance

MERC opened at $0.86 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $57.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.11 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.58. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $0.75 and a fifty-two week high of $4.47.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Peter R. Kellogg bought 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $0.97 per share, with a total value of $101,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 1,957,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,898,290. This trade represents a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have purchased a total of 1,000,000 shares of company stock valued at $932,900 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Mercer International during the 2nd quarter worth $1,804,000. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. grew its stake in Mercer International by 1.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 220,000 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 214,008 shares during the period. 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. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the second quarter worth about $244,000. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

About Mercer International

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.