Scientech Research LLC Buys 14,201 Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Scientech Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) by 23.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,573 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,201 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC’s holdings in Transocean were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RIG. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Transocean during the second quarter valued at $384,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Transocean by 214.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 382,362 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 260,710 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Transocean in the second quarter worth approximately $249,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 45.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 317,637 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $1,699,000 after buying an additional 99,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 19.2% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 124,486 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 20,054 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIG opened at $4.31 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of -8.29 and a beta of 2.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.42. Transocean Ltd. has a twelve month low of $3.85 and a twelve month high of $8.60.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 11.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.15) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Perestroika bought 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,476,695.62. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. DNB Markets raised Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com raised Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Transocean in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Transocean from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.00.

Transocean Company Profile

Transocean Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells worldwide. It contracts mobile offshore drilling rigs, related equipment, and work crews to drill oil and gas wells. The company operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of ultra-deepwater floaters and harsh environment floaters.