Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $3.21, but opened at $3.35. Transocean shares last traded at $3.30, with a volume of 14,775,901 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RIG shares. SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 target price on Transocean in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays cut their price target on Transocean from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Transocean from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $5.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.58.

Transocean Trading Up 3.3%

The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -4.54, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.20.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $906.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.92 million. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 0.52% and a negative net margin of 14.53%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.78, for a total value of $61,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 340,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $947,537.98. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Transocean by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,811,863 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $295,544,000 after buying an additional 931,684 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Transocean by 1.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 40,660,439 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $128,894,000 after buying an additional 651,843 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 10.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,348,095 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $67,673,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090,658 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,393,873 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $57,727,000 after purchasing an additional 3,895,880 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 14.2% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 13,480,351 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $42,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Transocean Company Profile

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.