- Offshore oil drilling stocks enjoy a Barron's bounce after the publication profiled the sector over the weekend and cited signs of a turnaround, including a 28% Y/Y increase in the worldwide offshore rig count through February.
- Evercore ISI analyst James West favors Transocean (RIG +2.7%), which he calls "the best-managed company in the group" and enjoys "plenty of room for improvement" after its December purchase of Ocean Rig UDW.
- West also likes Ensco (ESV +0.5%) and Rowan (RDC +0.2%) - which are merging - and Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO +2.5%).
- Graeme Forster, who manages international equity strategy at Orbis Investment Management, also has taken positions in RIG, ESV and DO, and notes "you’re never going to fulfill all the world’s energy needs from shale."