Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Trading Down 6% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) traded down 6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $3.83 and last traded at $3.8350. 8,229,391 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 38,377,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RIG shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Transocean from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Transocean in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Transocean from $4.25 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $4.50 price objective on shares of Transocean in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Transocean has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.48.

Transocean Trading Down 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.20 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.33.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.02. Transocean had a negative net margin of 75.71% and a positive return on equity of 0.45%. The firm had revenue of ($1,894.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Transocean

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 35,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.48, for a total value of $156,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 212,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,082.56. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeremy D. Thigpen sold 500,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.32, for a total value of $2,160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,136,223 shares in the company, valued at $9,228,483.36. This trade represents a 18.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 11,000,000 shares of company stock worth $36,460,000 and have sold 726,148 shares worth $3,115,783. Insiders own 12.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Transocean in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Transocean during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Josh Arnold Investment Consultant LLC purchased a new stake in Transocean during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Transocean in the second quarter worth about $27,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.