Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Shares Gap Up to $3.92

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.92, but opened at $4.03. Transocean shares last traded at $3.95, with a volume of 1,772,704 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RIG has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Transocean in a report on Friday, August 2nd. DNB Markets raised shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Transocean to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.25.

Transocean Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.07). Transocean had a negative net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. The firm had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.15) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,476,695.62. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 13.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIG. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 43,380 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 10,009 shares in the last quarter. SCP Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Transocean in the 4th quarter worth approximately $419,000. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 26,646 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 107,356 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 28,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Transocean by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 76,531 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 22,607 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Transocean

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.