Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $3.41 and traded as high as $4.21. Transocean shares last traded at $4.15, with a volume of 22,487,632 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RIG. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Transocean from $4.25 to $4.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Transocean in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Transocean from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Transocean in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $4.50 price target on Transocean in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.48.

Transocean Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of -1.27 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.41.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last issued 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. The business had revenue of ($1,894.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Transocean had a negative net margin of 75.71% and a positive return on equity of 0.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 212,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $950,082.56. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 2,136,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,228,483.36. The trade was a 18.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 726,148 shares of company stock valued at $3,115,783. 12.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dalal Street LLC purchased a new stake in Transocean during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $76,260,000. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Transocean during the third quarter worth $57,720,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Transocean by 19.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 94,519,248 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $294,900,000 after acquiring an additional 15,315,289 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Transocean during the third quarter valued at $30,262,000. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new stake in Transocean in the 3rd quarter valued at $18,720,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Transocean

Transocean Ltd. is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for the oil and gas industry. The company specializes in the operation of mobile drilling units, including ultra-deepwater drillships, semisubmersible rigs and high-specification jackup rigs. Transocean’s fleet is designed to meet complex drilling requirements, from ultra-deepwater well construction to shelf exploration and development projects.

The company’s core services encompass the full spectrum of offshore drilling operations, including project and engineering management, marine operations, drilling supervision, and maintenance support.