TD Securities Has Lowered Expectations for Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock Price

Key Points

• TD Securities has lowered the price target for Mercer International's stock from $3.50 to $3.00, indicating a potential downside of 6.10% from its current price.
• Several analysts have reduced their price targets for Mercer International, with the consensus rating remaining a "Hold" and a price target of $4.25.
• Mercer International's stock recently traded down 4.1% to $3.20, following a quarterly earnings report that missed estimates and reflected a negative net margin of 5.60%.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U had its price target reduced by research analysts at TD Securities from $3.50 to $3.00 in a report released on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the basic materials company's stock. TD Securities' price target points to a potential downside of 6.10% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MERC. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Mercer International from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Mercer International from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Mercer International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $4.25.

Mercer International Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of MERC stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 604,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,395. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 3.10 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $214.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.96 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $3.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.01. Mercer International has a 1-year low of $2.83 and a 1-year high of $8.28.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported ($1.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.73) by ($0.56). The business had revenue of $453.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.46 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 5.60% and a negative return on equity of 23.88%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Mercer International

In related news, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno bought 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.77 per share, for a total transaction of $30,160.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 75,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,068.55. This represents a 11.83% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Peter R. Kellogg bought 760,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.25 per share, with a total value of $2,470,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 2,300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,475,000. This represents a 49.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 925,811 shares of company stock worth $3,082,194. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Mercer International stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Free Report) TSE: MRI.U in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $58,000. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Mercer International

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.

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