Transocean Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:RIG)

Key Points

• Transocean saw unusually high call-option activity: Investors purchased 42,051 call options, about 130% above the typical volume of 18,286.
• Institutional ownership increased: Major investors including Dimensional Fund Advisors, State Street, Elliott Investment Management, and Bank of New York Mellon added to their positions; institutions now own 67.73% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: While some firms upgraded Transocean to “strong buy,” others cut price targets to $7.00. The stock’s average rating is “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $6.68, while its latest quarterly earnings and revenue modestly exceeded estimates.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 42,051 call options on the company. This is an increase of 130% compared to the typical volume of 18,286 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 12.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 48,819,576 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $323,682,000 after acquiring an additional 5,349,264 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Transocean by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,148,850 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $132,758,000 after buying an additional 2,166,646 shares during the period. Elliott Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Transocean in the first quarter worth $103,606,000. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Transocean by 3.3% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 12,656,881 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $83,915,000 after acquiring an additional 405,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Transocean by 67.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,698,827 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $37,783,000 after buying an additional 2,303,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Thursday. Fearnley Fonds raised Transocean from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Transocean from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.68.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of RIG traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 47,208,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,653,430. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.14, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.82. Transocean has a fifty-two week low of $3.22 and a fifty-two week high of $7.66.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $956.64 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 40.24% and a positive return on equity of 2.60%. The company's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.06) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Transocean will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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