Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Transocean Call Options (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 42,051 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 130% compared to the average volume of 18,286 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on RIG shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Transocean in a research report on Thursday. Fearnley Fonds raised Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.68.

Transocean Stock Performance

Shares of Transocean stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $5.91. 47,208,911 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,653,430. Transocean has a 12-month low of $3.22 and a 12-month high of $7.66. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.82. 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.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The offshore drilling services provider reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.02. Transocean had a positive return on equity of 2.60% and a negative net margin of 40.24%. The business had revenue of $966.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $956.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.06) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Transocean will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Transocean during the third quarter valued at about $9,112,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean in the 3rd quarter valued at $674,000. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Transocean during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $853,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Transocean in the 3rd quarter valued at about $190,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Company Profile

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.