Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Transocean (NYSE:RIG)

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 28,020 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 59% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,616 put options.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of RIG opened at $3.99 on Wednesday. Transocean has a 12 month low of $3.85 and a 12 month high of $6.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.80. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.31 and a beta of 2.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RIG. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Transocean from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on Transocean from $6.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Transocean in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.25.

Insider Activity

In other Transocean news, Director Perestroika bought 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares in the company, valued at $376,139,312.22. The trade was a 1.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total value of $85,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 310,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,333,576.53. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Transocean

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of RIG. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in Transocean in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Transocean in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Transocean by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 15,877 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.