Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Transocean Call Options (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 44,363 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 83% compared to the average daily volume of 24,273 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RIG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Transocean in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays upgraded shares of Transocean from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $6.00 to $8.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Transocean from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Transocean currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.82.

Transocean Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RIG traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $5.70. 46,070,270 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,262,832. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.91. Transocean has a twelve month low of $2.76 and a twelve month high of $7.66.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $966.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.64 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 40.24% and a positive return on equity of 2.60%. Transocean’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.06) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Transocean will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Transocean

In related news, Director Chad C. Deaton acquired 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.95 per share, for a total transaction of $173,250.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 237,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,233.95. This trade represents a 17.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Transocean by 22,432.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,309 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 6,281 shares during the period. Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Transocean during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Transocean by 203.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 11,030 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 7,399 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.