Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Given New $6.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $5.00 to $6.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the offshore drilling services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Transocean to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Benchmark restated a buy rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Transocean in a report on Friday, August 2nd. DNB Markets raised Transocean from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered Transocean from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Transocean presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $7.13.

Transocean Price Performance

Transocean stock opened at $4.59 on Thursday. Transocean has a one year low of $3.85 and a one year high of $8.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.39. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.82 and a beta of 2.79.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.07). Transocean had a negative net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. The business had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.25 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.15) EPS. Transocean’s revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Transocean will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Transocean

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RIG. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Transocean during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Transocean during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Fiducient Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Transocean during the 1st quarter worth $63,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Transocean during the 2nd quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.