Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Price Target Lowered to $5.00 at Morgan Stanley

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $7.00 to $5.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the offshore drilling services provider’s stock.

RIG has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised Transocean to a sell rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Transocean in a report on Friday, August 2nd. DNB Markets upgraded shares of Transocean from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Transocean from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $7.00.

Transocean Stock Performance

NYSE RIG opened at $4.54 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.46. Transocean has a 12-month low of $3.85 and a 12-month high of $8.71. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.73 and a beta of 2.79.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.07). Transocean had a negative return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 11.34%. The business had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.15) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Transocean will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika purchased 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,476,695.62. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Perestroika acquired 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.13 per share, for a total transaction of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,139,312.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Transocean by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 96,150 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,257 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Transocean by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,237 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Transocean by 138.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,633 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Transocean by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 27,714 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Transocean

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.