Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Susquehanna lowered their price target on the stock from $8.00 to $7.00. The stock had previously closed at $4.30, but opened at $4.19. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Transocean shares last traded at $4.18, with a volume of 2,042,453 shares traded.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Transocean in a report on Friday, August 2nd. DNB Markets raised shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.88.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at $468,476,695.62. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.13 per share, for a total transaction of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIG. Creative Planning grew its stake in Transocean by 63.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 290,993 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 112,512 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 36.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,065 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 4,529 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Transocean during the third quarter worth about $75,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Transocean by 404.7% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 60,459 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 48,479 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Transocean in the second quarter valued at approximately $412,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.41 and a beta of 2.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.29.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.07). Transocean had a negative return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 11.34%. The business had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.15) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

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.