Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Trading 6.7% Higher

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) traded up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $5.61 and last traded at $5.61. 5,623,372 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 17,713,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Transocean from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Transocean in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Transocean from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $5.50 to $9.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Transocean from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Transocean currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

Transocean Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $767.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.86 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 13.27% and a negative return on equity of 4.67%. The business’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.38) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika acquired 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.01 per share, for a total transaction of $12,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,574,894 shares in the company, valued at $526,325,112.94. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 13.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Transocean by 5.2% during the first quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,257 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Transocean by 8.6% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,237 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Transocean by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,496 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 2,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 2,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.