Peter Kellogg Purchases 64,885 Shares of Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) major shareholder Peter Kellogg acquired 64,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $0.90 per share, for a total transaction of $58,396.50. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,030,814 shares in the company, valued at $927,732.60. This trade represents a 6.72% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Mercer International Stock Performance

MERC 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 company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58. The firm has a market cap of $40.29 million, a PE ratio of -0.08 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $0.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.46.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.74) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $489.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Mercer International Inc. will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 14,603 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Mercer International in the second quarter valued at $244,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Mercer International by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 994,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,866,000 after buying an additional 137,906 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased 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 buying an additional 214,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in Mercer International during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,804,000. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. TD dropped their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercer International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mercer International currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price 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.