Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $2.78, but opened at $2.68. Transocean shares last traded at $2.62, with a volume of 2,328,825 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RIG shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Transocean from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Transocean from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. BTIG Research set a $5.00 price target on shares of Transocean and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 price objective on Transocean in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Transocean presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.58.

Transocean Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.02. Transocean had a negative net margin of 14.53% and a negative return on equity of 0.52%. The company had revenue of $906.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.03) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Transocean

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.78, for a total value of $61,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 340,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $947,537.98. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Transocean

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Transocean during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Transocean by 154.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,810 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 5,353 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in Transocean by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 8,400 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,933 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc acquired a new position in Transocean during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Transocean during the first quarter valued at $32,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.