Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Trading Up 6.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) shot up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.48 and last traded at $6.4850. 19,871,775 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 42,416,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on RIG. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Transocean from $6.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays cut Transocean from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $4.50 to $6.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Transocean from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds lowered shares of Transocean from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.79.

Transocean Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of -2.08 and a beta of 1.37.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.07). Transocean had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 73.52%.The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.09) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Transocean news, CEO Keelan Adamson sold 58,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $293,435.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,222,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,110,910. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 78,370 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.36, for a total transaction of $498,433.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 268,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,639. The trade was a 22.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of Transocean by 22,432.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,309 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 6,281 shares during the period. Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

About Transocean

Transocean Ltd. is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for the oil and gas industry. The company specializes in the operation of mobile drilling units, including ultra-deepwater drillships, semisubmersible rigs and high-specification jackup rigs. Transocean’s fleet is designed to meet complex drilling requirements, from ultra-deepwater well construction to shelf exploration and development projects.

The company’s core services encompass the full spectrum of offshore drilling operations, including project and engineering management, marine operations, drilling supervision, and maintenance support.