Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Short Interest Up 128.0% in August

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,216,772 shares, an increase of 128.0% from the August 15th total of 3,603,063 shares. Currently, 12.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 15,207,310 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MERC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.75 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $1.50 to $1.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercer International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, TD reduced their price objective on Mercer International from $0.40 to $0.15 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $1.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Mercer International by 16.1% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 994,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 137,906 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,804,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after buying an additional 14,603 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Mercer International in the second quarter valued at approximately $244,000. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercer International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MERC opened at $0.39 on Monday. Mercer International has a 1 year low of $0.35 and a 1 year high of $3.29. The firm has a market cap of $26.15 million, a P/E ratio of -0.05 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $0.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported ($1.13) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.95) by ($0.18). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 352.57% and a negative net margin of 27.86%.The business had revenue of $460.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.00 million. Research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.