Borr Drilling (NYSE:BORR) Stock Sees Heavy Put Option Buying

Borr Drilling Limited (NYSE:BORR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 7,756 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 294% compared to the average volume of 1,968 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BORR. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Borr Drilling from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Borr Drilling from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Borr Drilling from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Capital One Financial set a $6.00 price target on shares of Borr Drilling and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, SEB Equity Research set a $3.55 price target on shares of Borr Drilling in a report on Monday, August 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.27.

Borr Drilling Price Performance

BORR stock opened at $4.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.38 and a 200-day moving average of $4.80. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Borr Drilling has a 12-month low of $2.53 and a 12-month high of $6.66.

Borr Drilling (NYSE:BORR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.79) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.58). Borr Drilling had a negative return on equity of 5.95% and a negative net margin of 23.98%. The firm had revenue of $232.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.96 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Borr Drilling will post -0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Harvey Snowling purchased 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.91 per share, with a total value of $1,473,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 445,944 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,585.04. This trade represents a 205.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Currie purchased 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.01 per share, with a total value of $501,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 479,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,922,486.23. This trade represents a 35.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Borr Drilling

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BORR. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in shares of Borr Drilling by 186.4% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 5,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,293 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Borr Drilling by 11,940.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 8,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 8,478 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Borr Drilling by 2,435.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 8,133 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Borr Drilling in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Borr Drilling in the 1st quarter worth about $66,000. 83.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Borr Drilling

Borr Drilling Limited (NYSE: BORR) is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to oil and gas companies. The company focuses primarily on jack-up rigs, which are mobile offshore drilling units used in relatively shallow waters for exploration, development and production drilling.

Borr Drilling owns and operates a fleet of modern jack-up rigs, including premium and high-specification units designed to work in a range of offshore environments. Its services support customers throughout the drilling life cycle, from exploratory wells to development and production activities.

Established in 2016 and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Borr Drilling expanded its fleet through the acquisition of jack-up rigs from Transocean in 2017.