Transocean Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 90,439 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 192% compared to the average volume of 30,978 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on RIG shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Transocean from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised Transocean to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Transocean in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Transocean from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Transocean currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RIG. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Transocean during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Transocean in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Transocean by 1,489.8% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 8,537 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Transocean during the first quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in Transocean during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Stock Down 8.2 %

Transocean stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $5.34. The company had a trading volume of 38,999,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,063,377. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.73 and its 200-day moving average is $5.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.15 and a beta of 2.77. Transocean has a fifty-two week low of $4.45 and a fifty-two week high of $8.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.10. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 7.13% and a negative net margin of 33.69%. The firm had revenue of $767.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $781.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.38) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Transocean will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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.