Transocean Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 105,437 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 149% compared to the average daily volume of 42,422 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Transocean from $4.25 to $4.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Fearnley Fonds cut shares of Transocean from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Transocean in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Transocean from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Transocean

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 78,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.36, for a total value of $498,433.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 268,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,639. The trade was a 22.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Keelan Adamson sold 58,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $293,435.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,222,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,110,910. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,903 shares of company stock worth $906,098. 12.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RIG. Monashee Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Transocean during the 3rd quarter valued at $936,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Transocean by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 818,781 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $2,555,000 after purchasing an additional 223,231 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC purchased a new position in Transocean during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,162,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Transocean by 2,662.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,562,314 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $4,874,000 after buying an additional 1,505,755 shares during the period. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter worth about $18,720,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Stock Up 3.6%

RIG stock opened at $6.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Transocean has a twelve month low of $1.97 and a twelve month high of $6.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $5.59 and its 200-day moving average is $4.40.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Transocean had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 73.52%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Transocean will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.