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Transocean (RIG) Surges 10.7%: Is This an Indication of Further Gains?

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Transocean (RIG - Free Report) shares soared 10.7% in the last trading session to close at $5.82. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 1.4% gain over the past four weeks.

RIG shares surged after a strong quarterly fleet performance report. The company's announcement of six new contract wins, including three lucrative deals in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, highlighted the robust demand for its offshore drilling services. This is further supported by Transocean's substantial $8.8 billion backlog, indicating a healthy pipeline of future work. Additionally, the broader energy sector, particularly offshore drilling, is experiencing positive momentum due to rising oil and gas demand. These factors together boosted investor confidence, driving up Transocean's stock price.

This offshore oil and gas drilling contractor is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.07 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +53.3%. Revenues are expected to be $885.8 million, up 18.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Transocean, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 33.3% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. And a negative trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't usually translate into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on RIG going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Transocean belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas - Drilling industry. Another stock from the same industry, Precision Drilling (PDS - Free Report) , closed the last trading session 1.4% higher at $72.24. Over the past month, PDS has returned 2.5%.

Precision Drilling's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -9.9% over the past month to $6.89. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +469.4%. Precision Drilling currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).


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