Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Shares Break Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $0.26 and traded as high as $0.3614. Mercer International shares last traded at $0.2610, with a volume of 75,224,553 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Mercer International from $0.75 to $0.20 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mercer International from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (e)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. TD dropped their price target on Mercer International from $0.40 to $0.15 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of Mercer International from a “neutral” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and set a $0.15 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercer International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mercer International has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $0.85.

Mercer International Stock Up 11.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $17.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.04 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $0.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.87.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.11) by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $440.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $452.00 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 26.95% and a negative return on equity of 352.57%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mercer International Inc. will post -3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MERC. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Mercer International by 847.0% in the 3rd quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 287,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 257,318 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Mercer International by 773.9% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 161,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 143,301 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International during the second quarter valued at about $67,000. Atlas FRM LLC acquired a new position in Mercer International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $393,882. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Mercer International during the second quarter worth $798,000. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

About Mercer International

Mercer International Inc. is a global producer of market northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp, a wood-fiber material used to manufacture tissue, printing and writing papers, specialty papers, and other fiber-based products. The company sells its pulp to customers in a range of international markets, primarily through direct sales and established distribution channels. Mercer operates pulp mills in Germany and Canada. Its German operations include the Rosenthal mill in Blankenstein and the Stendal mill in Arneburg, while its Canadian operations include the Celgar mill in Castlegar, British Columbia.