Peter Kellogg Acquires 100,000 Shares of Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) major shareholder Peter Kellogg bought 100,000 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $0.86 per share, with a total value of $86,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,057,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,020. This represents a 10.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Mercer International Price Performance

MERC opened at $0.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.12 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.74. Mercer International Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.75 and a twelve month high of $4.47.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MERC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Mercer International from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Friday, March 27th. TD Securities downgraded Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. TD dropped their target price on Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $2.00 to $2.25 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $1.85.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 14,603 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Mercer International by 16.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 994,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,866,000 after acquiring an additional 137,906 shares in the last quarter. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 220,000 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in Mercer International during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,804,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Mercer International during the second quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Hedge funds and other 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.