Investors Purchase Large Volume of Transocean Put Options (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 20,324 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 32% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,440 put options.

Transocean Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE RIG traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $2.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 25,562,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,326,006. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.05, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.70. Transocean has a 52-week low of $2.95 and a 52-week high of $6.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $952.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.28 million. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 0.52% and a negative net margin of 14.53%. Research analysts predict that Transocean will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total value of $84,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 313,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,205,327.20. This represents a 6.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 13.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in Transocean during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Transocean by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 8,400 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,933 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Transocean by 96.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,841 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 4,826 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Transocean in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in Transocean in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on RIG shares. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Transocean in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Transocean from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $6.00 to $5.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Transocean from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Transocean from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.75.

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.