Peter Kellogg Purchases 136,000 Shares of Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) major shareholder Peter Kellogg acquired 136,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $0.86 per share, with a total value of $116,960.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,334,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,147,438.66. This represents a 11.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Mercer International Trading Down 7.1%

Shares of Mercer International stock opened at $0.60 on Friday. Mercer International Inc. has a 1 year low of $0.58 and a 1 year high of $4.47. The firm has a market cap of $40.29 million, a PE ratio of -0.08 and a beta of 0.52. 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 50 day simple moving average of $0.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.46.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly 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). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 136.20% and a negative net margin of 28.51%.The company had revenue of $489.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $493.00 million. Analysts expect that Mercer International Inc. will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Mercer International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 14,603 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,804,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 137,906 shares during the last quarter. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.