Clearwater Paper shares gain for a fourth straight session on Thursday, Michael Murphy appointed as the company’s next CFO

Clearwater Paper Corp (CLW) said last week that Michael Murphy had been appointed as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective April 13th. Murphy will succeed Robert (Bob) Hrivnak who is to part ways with Clearwater.

Clearwater Paper shares closed higher for a fourth consecutive trading session in New York on Thursday. The stock went up 4.53% ($0.91) to $21.01, after touching an intraday high at $21.82, or a price level not seen since March 31st ($22.29).

Shares of Clearwater Paper Corp have retreated 1.64% so far this year, following a 12.35% loss in 2019.

Prior to his appointment at Clearwater Paper, Michael Murphy was Chief Financial Officer at NxEdge Inc. Before that, he was in senior finance, risk management and strategy roles at Boise Inc and Kapstone Paper and Packaging.

Murphy has more than 17 years of investment banking experience with John Nuveen & Co and J.P. Morgan Securities.

“Mike is a respected leader who brings more than 25 years of paper industry and finance experience. His background in optimizing financial and business processes, paired with his strategic acumen, will help our team achieve near- and long-term opportunities,” Arsen Kitch, Clearwater’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a press release.

“We look forward to Mike playing a vital role as we focus on ensuring continuous operations to serve the heightened, near-term demand for our essential goods, and longer term, as we focus on delivering strong financial performance and value creation for our shareholders,” Kitch added.

“On behalf of the company, I want to thank Bob for his contributions and expertise. Over the past year, Bob has been instrumental in strengthening our internal controls and procedures and implementing a more rigorous process to our accounting and reporting practices,” the CEO also said.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 2 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Clearwater Paper Corp’s stock price, have a median target of $33.00, with a high estimate of $44.00 and a low estimate of $22.00. The median estimate represents a 57.07% upside compared to the closing price of $21.01 on April 9th.

The same media also reported that at least 2 out of 3 surveyed investment analysts had rated Clearwater Paper Corp’s stock as “Hold”, while 1 – as “Buy”.