Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Short Interest Up 128.0% in August

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,216,772 shares, a growth of 128.0% from the August 15th total of 3,603,063 shares. Approximately 12.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 15,207,310 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MERC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercer International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.75 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their price target on shares of Mercer International from $1.50 to $1.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, TD lowered their target price on shares of Mercer International from $0.40 to $0.15 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mercer International presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $1.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 14,603 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in Mercer International during the 2nd quarter worth $244,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Mercer International in the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Mercer International by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 994,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,866,000 after buying an additional 137,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 773.9% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 161,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 143,301 shares in the last quarter. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercer International Stock Performance

NASDAQ MERC opened at $0.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $0.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.15 million, a P/E ratio of -0.05 and a beta of 0.48. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $0.35 and a fifty-two week high of $3.29.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported ($1.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.95) by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $460.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.00 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 352.57% and a negative net margin of 27.86%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

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.