Raymond James Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock Price

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Raymond James from $7.50 to $7.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.97% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MERC. StockNews.com raised Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.25.

Mercer International Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of MERC traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $6.87. The company had a trading volume of 42,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,960. Mercer International has a 1-year low of $5.33 and a 1-year high of $11.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.59. The stock has a market cap of $459.06 million, a PE ratio of -2.42 and a beta of 1.29.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $502.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.84 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 17.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.39) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mercer International by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,559,000 after buying an additional 8,957 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Mercer International by 505.8% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 41,315 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Mercer International by 22.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Mercer International by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 17,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the last quarter. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercer International Company Profile

Mercer International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) and northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Pulp and Solid Wood. It manufactures, sells, and distributes pulp, electricity, and chemicals through pulp mills.