Topic: How To Invest

Could you provide your opinion on Transocean? Would it be a good stock to purchase?

Article Excerpt

Transocean Ltd., $77.06, symbol RIG on New York (Shares outstanding: 319 million; Market cap: $24.6 billion; www.deepwater.com), is the world’s largest offshore-drilling contractor. The company operates rigs in all of the major offshore-drilling regions, including the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, the Middle East, and off the coasts of West Africa, the U.K., Norway, Brazil and Canada. The company specializes in technically demanding projects in deep water and other harsh environments. Its fleet consists of 45 high-specification floating rigs (including 25 ultra-deepwater rigs), 26 midwater floating rigs, and 65 shallow-water rigs. Like most deepwater drillers, Transocean’s shares fell following the April 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. BP plc (New York symbol BP) had leased the rig from Transocean. Its sinking caused a massive oil spill. Transocean did not operate the rig, and, unlike BP, appears unlikely to face significant financial penalties. Transocean’s shares have since recovered from the low of $41.88 they reached in June 2010. In the…