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

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 77,238 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 56% compared to the typical volume of 49,581 call options.

Transocean Trading Up 7.7%

Shares of RIG stock opened at $7.58 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $6.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.31. Transocean has a 1-year low of $2.34 and a 1-year high of $7.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Transocean had a negative net margin of 66.79% and a positive return on equity of 0.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Transocean will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 78,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.36, for a total transaction of $498,433.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 268,025 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,639. This represents a 22.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Transocean by 5.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 444,630 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $2,948,000 after purchasing an additional 22,453 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Transocean by 406.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 140,359 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 112,628 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Transocean by 27.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,536 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Transocean by 23.5% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,157,178 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $7,672,000 after purchasing an additional 220,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regal Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Transocean in the first quarter valued at $614,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RIG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Pareto Securities cut Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $5.25 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Transocean from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Fearnley Fonds cut Transocean from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Clarkson Capital lowered Transocean from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Transocean from $6.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.96.

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.