Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Transocean (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 40,308 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 39% compared to the average volume of 29,033 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 949.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 126,006 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 114,000 shares in the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC raised its stake in Transocean by 299.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 1,770,822 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $14,538,000 after buying an additional 1,328,032 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 180.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 32,535 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 20,935 shares during the last quarter. Hosking Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 342.7% in the third quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,112,543 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $9,134,000 after purchasing an additional 861,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clough Capital Partners L P raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 12.0% in the third quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P now owns 1,663,543 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $13,658,000 after purchasing an additional 178,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Transocean Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RIG traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $6.37. 15,826,777 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,352,555. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.94 and a beta of 2.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.52. Transocean has a 52 week low of $4.45 and a 52 week high of $8.88. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.27.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 19th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.12. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 7.13% and a negative net margin of 33.69%. The firm had revenue of $741.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.49) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Transocean will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on RIG shares. StockNews.com raised Transocean to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Transocean from $6.50 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Transocean from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Transocean from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.06.

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.

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