Transocean Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 28,020 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 59% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,616 put options.

Transocean Stock Performance

Transocean stock opened at $3.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Transocean has a 12 month low of $3.85 and a 12 month high of $6.88. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.31 and a beta of 2.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.28 and its 200-day moving average is $4.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RIG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Transocean from $6.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Transocean from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup cut Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Transocean in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total transaction of $85,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 310,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,333,576.53. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Perestroika bought 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at $376,139,312.22. The trade was a 1.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,170 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,469 shares during the period. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Transocean by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 98,650 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Transocean by 138.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Transocean by 0.4% during the second quarter. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. now owns 1,014,269 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $5,426,000 after purchasing an additional 3,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Transocean by 34.0% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 15,877 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 4,027 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.