Investors Buy High Volume of Transocean Call Options (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 69,880 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 85% compared to the typical volume of 37,748 call options.

Transocean Price Performance

NYSE:RIG opened at $6.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Transocean has a one year low of $1.97 and a one year high of $6.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.80. The stock has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.83 and a beta of 1.46.

Insider Activity

In other Transocean news, Director Perestroika bought 1,500,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.02 per share, for a total transaction of $6,030,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 96,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,231,073.88. This trade represents a 1.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.48, for a total value of $156,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 212,072 shares in the company, valued at $950,082.56. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 712,970 shares of company stock worth $3,152,132. 12.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fruth Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Transocean by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 90,378 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Transocean by 9.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 35,604 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,932 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Transocean by 3.5% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 100,634 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 3,367 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of Transocean by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 27,350 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 29,000 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on RIG shares. Pareto Securities lowered shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $5.25 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Transocean in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Fearnley Fonds lowered Transocean from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Transocean from $4.25 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $4.50 price target on Transocean in a report on Monday, December 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Transocean presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.22.

Transocean News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Transocean this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Transformative acquisition announced — Transocean agreed to buy Valaris in an all‑stock transaction (~$5.8B), creating a much larger offshore drilling leader with scale, an expanded fleet and meaningful backlog and cost‑saving opportunities that improve cash‑flow visibility and leverage metrics. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New firm backlog: ~$184M in Norway contract fixtures for two harsh‑environment semisubmersibles (Encourage extension + Enabler options) — adds near‑term revenue visibility and extends rig utilization into 2027. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish derivatives flow — unusually large call buying (≈69,880 calls, ~+85% vs. average) suggests speculative or hedged bullish positioning that can amplify intraday upside and trading volume.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upward momentum — BTIG raised its price target to $10, supporting higher expectations for upside from the deal and operations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: M&A investor materials and call transcript available — management has held calls/transcripts explaining rationale and synergies; useful for investors doing due diligence but not an immediate catalyst by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings/operational outlook — previews (Zacks) expect revenue growth but higher operating & maintenance costs; watch Q4 results and guidance for confirmation. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade — Fearnley Fonds cut RIG from “strong‑buy” to “hold,” which may temper some buy‑side enthusiasm and limit near‑term upside. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/transaction scrutiny — a class‑action investigation and third‑party reviews of the Valaris deal process have been announced, introducing regulatory/legal risk and potential distraction or costs. Article Title Article Title

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.