Raymond James Lowers Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target to $7.00

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Raymond James from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report released on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.01% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.25.

Mercer International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MERC opened at $6.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 3.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $450.04 million, a PE ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 1.29. Mercer International has a 52-week low of $5.33 and a 52-week high of $11.20.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.03. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 17.62% and a negative net margin of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $502.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.39) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -1.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Mercer International by 505.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 41,315 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Mercer International by 22.7% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.