Insider Buying: Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Major Shareholder Purchases $204,250.00 in Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) major shareholder Peter Kellogg purchased 215,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $0.95 per share, with a total value of $204,250.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,472,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,398,400. The trade was a 17.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 Trading Up 6.9%

Shares of Mercer International stock opened at $1.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $69.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.13 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.69. Mercer International Inc. has a 1 year low of $0.75 and a 1 year high of $4.47.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $489.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $493.00 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 136.20% and a negative net margin of 28.51%. Research analysts forecast that Mercer International Inc. will post -2.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. increased 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 worth $48,096,000 after purchasing an additional 220,000 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased 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 worth $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 137,906 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mercer International by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 14,603 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercer International in the second quarter worth $1,804,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Mercer International by 340.6% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 276,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 214,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Mercer International from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. TD lowered their price objective on Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, TD Securities cut Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $1.85.

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.