Morgan Stanley Cuts Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Price Target to $4.00

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $5.00 to $4.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the offshore drilling services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 22.32% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on RIG. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Transocean from $6.50 to $5.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Transocean from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $6.00 to $5.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 target price on shares of Transocean in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Transocean from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Transocean presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.03.

Transocean Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of RIG traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3.27. 20,627,807 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,795,814. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Transocean has a 52 week low of $2.55 and a 52 week high of $6.88. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of -4.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.91.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Transocean

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 owns 313,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,205,327.20. This trade represents a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 13.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RIG. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in Transocean in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in shares of Transocean by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 8,400 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,933 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Transocean by 96.2% in 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 bought a new stake in Transocean during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new position in Transocean in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.