Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Cut to “Sell” at TD Securities

TD Securities lowered shares of Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. TD Securities currently has $2.25 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $2.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MERC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Mercer International from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $2.00 to $2.25 in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mercer International currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.10.

Mercer International Trading Up 0.4%

Mercer International stock opened at $2.46 on Wednesday. Mercer International has a 12 month low of $1.48 and a 12 month high of $8.28. The company has a market capitalization of $164.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.95 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.30.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $458.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.70 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 37.38% and a negative net margin of 9.04%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mercer International will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mercer International

In other news, major shareholder Peter R. Kellogg bought 225,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.73 per share, for a total transaction of $389,250.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 1,320,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,283,600. The trade was a 20.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,007,718 shares of company stock valued at $1,860,644. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International during the 2nd quarter valued at $244,000. 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 worth $969,000 after buying an additional 214,008 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in Mercer International during the second quarter valued at about $1,804,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $2,866,000 after acquiring an additional 137,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 1.3% in the third quarter. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. now owns 16,700,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,096,000 after acquiring an additional 220,000 shares in the last quarter. 85.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.