Transocean Ltd. $RIG Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Transocean stake by 98.1% in the third quarter, selling 7.52 million shares and retaining 146,042 shares valued at approximately $765,000.
• Transocean’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.03 versus a $0.01 estimate and revenue of $966 million; however, revenue declined 2.2% year over year and the company posted a negative net margin.
• Analyst views remain mixed, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $6.68, compared with the stock’s reported price of $6.08.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Free Report) by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 146,042 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock after selling 7,518,017 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Transocean were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Transocean in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Transocean by 27.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,536 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Transocean by 192.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,787 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 5,126 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean during the second quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Transocean in the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Transocean Stock Performance

NYSE RIG opened at $6.08 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $5.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.59. Transocean Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $3.49 and a fifty-two week high of $7.66.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $966.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $956.64 million. Transocean had a positive return on equity of 2.60% and a negative net margin of 40.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.06) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RIG. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Transocean from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Transocean from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Transocean currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.68.

About Transocean

Transocean Ltd. is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to international oil and gas companies. The company specializes in ultra-deepwater and harsh-environment drilling, helping customers explore for and develop offshore energy resources.

Transocean owns and operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, including ultra-deepwater drillships and semisubmersible rigs. Its services generally include contract drilling, rig operations, well-construction support, and related offshore drilling management.

With roots tracing back to the 1920s, Transocean serves customers in major offshore energy regions around the world.

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