Transocean Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 30,706 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 95% compared to the average daily volume of 15,725 call options.

Transocean Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIG traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $2.81. 43,884,153 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,667,677. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.58 and a 200-day moving average of $3.14. Transocean has a 12 month low of $1.97 and a 12 month high of $5.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.02. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 0.94% and a negative net margin of 18.79%. The company had revenue of $906.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.92 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Transocean will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $947,537.98. This trade represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Transocean by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,465,534 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $46,746,000 after purchasing an additional 859,214 shares in the last quarter. Hosking Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 1,706,143 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $6,398,000 after buying an additional 324,955 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in shares of Transocean by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 499,801 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 100,691 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 899.8% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 495,675 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $1,859,000 after acquiring an additional 446,100 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Transocean by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 930,851 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $3,491,000 after acquiring an additional 316,362 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RIG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Transocean from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reduced 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. SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 target price on Transocean in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BTIG Research set a $5.00 price target on Transocean and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.58.

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.

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