Transocean, an offshore-drilling contractor, and fracking pioneer Continental Resources have seen shares rocket in 2021. Both have insiders scooping up more stock.
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Two resurgent energy stocks have seen large insider purchases as of late.
Energy stocks have soared on the prospect of more demand as economies reopen and Covid-19 vaccinations spread. Transocean (ticker: RIG), an offshore-drilling contractor, and Continental Resources (CLR), an oil producer that pioneered hydraulic fracturing, have seen shares rise 92.2% and 141.7%, respectively, so far this year, compared with a 14.0% rise in the S&P 500 index.
Transocean director Frederik W. Mohn paid $40.7 million from June 15 through June 22 for a total of 9.9 million shares, a per share average price of $4.11. Mohn made the purchases through Perestroika AS, a Norwegian investment firm of which he is the sole director and owner, according to a form he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Perestroika now owns 77.6 million Transocean shares. It was Mohn’s first purchases of Transocean stock on the open market since 2018.
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Continental founder and Chairman Harold Hamm paid $12.5 million from June 15 through June 18 for a total of 346,486 shares, a per share average price of $36.07. Hamm purchased the stock through a personal account, which now holds 13.4 million Continental shares. He also owns another 283.1 million shares through a limited liability company. It’s his first open-market purchase of Continental stock this year, but he has been a regular stock buyer in the past.
Mohn declined to comment. Continental didn’t respond to a request to make Hamm available for comment.
Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.
Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BarronsEdLin.
