Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $3.37 and traded as high as $4.05. Transocean shares last traded at $4.0250, with a volume of 25,658,271 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on RIG shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Transocean from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Transocean in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $4.50 price target on Transocean in a report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Transocean from $4.25 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Transocean in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.48.

Transocean Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.23 and a beta of 1.39.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.02. The company had revenue of ($1,894.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Transocean had a positive return on equity of 0.45% and a negative net margin of 75.71%.The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.48, for a total transaction of $156,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 212,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,082.56. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Keelan Adamson sold 57,968 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.50, for a total transaction of $260,856.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,303,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,866,717.50. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 11,000,000 shares of company stock valued at $36,460,000 and have sold 726,148 shares valued at $3,115,783. 12.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RIG. Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC acquired a new position in Transocean during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Blume Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Transocean by 125.9% in the second quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,560 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 5,885 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Transocean during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Verum Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Transocean during the second quarter worth about $28,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Transocean Company Profile

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.