Mercer International Inc. (MERC) – What Are Brokerages Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Strong Sell” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1.13.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MERC. TD decreased their price target on Mercer International from $0.40 to $0.15 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.75 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped 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 note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercer International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th.

Mercer International Stock Down 18.4%

Shares of Mercer International stock opened at $0.20 on Tuesday. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $0.19 and a fifty-two week high of $2.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $0.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.74. The firm has a market cap of $13.08 million, a PE ratio of -0.03 and a beta of 0.55.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 27.86% and a negative return on equity of 352.57%. The business had revenue of $460.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.00 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MERC. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Mercer International during the second quarter worth approximately $67,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 773.9% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 161,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 143,301 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the 2nd quarter valued at $379,000. Atlas FRM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the 2nd quarter valued at $393,882. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the 2nd quarter valued at $798,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Company Profile

Mercer International Inc is a global producer of market pulp, a key raw material used to manufacture tissue, printing and writing paper, specialty papers, and other fiber-based products. The company primarily produces northern bleached softwood kraft pulp and northern bleached hardwood kraft pulp, which it sells to customers in the paper, tissue, and specialty-products industries.

Mercer operates pulp mills in Germany and Canada, including facilities in Rosenthal and Stendal, Germany, and Celgar in British Columbia and Peace River in Alberta.