Insider Buying: Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Major Shareholder Buys 136,000 Shares

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) major shareholder Peter Kellogg bought 136,000 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $0.86 per share, for a total transaction of $116,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 1,334,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,147,438.66. This represents a 11.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MERC traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $0.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,761,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 599,197. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $0.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $43.37 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 quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 2.17. Mercer International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $0.58 and a fifty-two week high of $4.47.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $489.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $493.00 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 28.51% and a negative return on equity of 136.20%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mercer International Inc. will post -2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MERC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercer International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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 reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $1.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MERC. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Mercer International by 340.6% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 276,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 214,008 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Mercer International in the second quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Mercer International during the second quarter worth approximately $1,804,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 137,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 14,603 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

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.