Insider Buying: Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Major Shareholder Acquires $86,000.00 in Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) major shareholder Peter Kellogg purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $0.86 per share, with a total value of $86,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,057,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $909,020. This trade represents a 10.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Mercer International Price Performance

Shares of MERC opened at $0.94 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.73. Mercer International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $0.75 and a fifty-two week high of $4.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.96 million, a PE ratio of -0.12 and a beta of 0.53. 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 (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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.74) by ($0.04). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 136.20% and a negative net margin of 28.51%.The business had revenue of $489.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $493.00 million. Equities analysts predict that Mercer International Inc. will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MERC shares. TD Securities cut shares of Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen cut shares of Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their target price for the company from $2.00 to $2.25 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Mercer International from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. TD decreased their target price on shares of Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $1.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 14,603 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Mercer International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Mercer International by 16.1% during the 3rd 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. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in Mercer International by 340.6% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 276,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 214,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. increased its stake in Mercer International by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. now owns 16,700,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,096,000 after purchasing an additional 220,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

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.