David Burrows
Transocean Inc.
RIG-N
COMMENT
Dec 13, 2010
Oil service is a very strong theme in the market, more on the land base rather than deep water drilling. This company has a major market share in every major market they play in globally. Headline risk over hanging it that he doesn’t care for. Prefers Weatherford (WFT-N).
options action It's trading at $462. There was a buyer of 13,000 of the April 22 5 calls. What followed was six other energy companies had unusual options. He is overloaded in the energy space, but he added to his RIG calls.
Transocean is highly risky, but if these day rates continue to rise on oil rigs, this will be many multiples of its current share price. That said, they have an upside-down balance sheet. Don't rush into this. Do your homework.
High debt, which they are paying down from free cashflow. Rig counts are up, a big milestone. Super-duper, high beta name to own when oil's not falling 5% in a day. Be strategic when to add. 12-ish% free cashflow yield, but see his Top Picks for a more compelling name.
They report later today, but he's not interest in that, but rather the conference call about how tight the market is for deep-drilling rigs. He thinks it's a matter of when, not if, their rigs will be reactivated.