Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Short Interest Update

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 572,000 shares, an increase of 21.7% from the January 15th total of 470,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 282,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Mercer International Stock Performance

Shares of Mercer International stock opened at $6.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.53 and a 200-day moving average of $6.48. The company has a market cap of $437.34 million, a PE ratio of -2.31 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. Mercer International has a 1-year low of $5.33 and a 1-year high of $11.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MERC. Raymond James dropped their price target on Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MERC. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mercer International by 1.7% in 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 buying an additional 8,957 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position 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 worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 41,315 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted 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 valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its position 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 buying an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

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.