Morgan Stanley Boosts Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Price Target to $6.00

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $5.00 to $6.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the offshore drilling services provider’s stock.

RIG has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com upgraded Transocean to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup downgraded Transocean from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Transocean in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, DNB Markets raised Transocean from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Transocean has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $7.13.

Transocean Stock Performance

RIG opened at $4.67 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4.74 and a 200-day moving average of $5.38. Transocean has a fifty-two week low of $3.85 and a fifty-two week high of $8.03. 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). The business had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 11.34%. Transocean’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Transocean will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In other Transocean news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika bought 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.23 per share, with a total value of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at $468,476,695.62. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika bought 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Perestroika bought 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.13 per share, for a total transaction of $6,195,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Transocean by 1.7% during the first quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 96,150 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Transocean by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,257 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Transocean by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,237 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 138.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,633 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 27,714 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.