Transocean: Room for Shares to Run

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Is Transocean on its way to $70? That's the opinion of several Street analysts ahead of the Transocean earnings report expected after-hours on Wednesday.

In the least, Transocean shares are rising on Wednesday morning, up as much as 8%, one of the biggest gains in the energy sector, and reaching its average daily trading volume of nine million shares early in the day.

Transocean led the energy-sector rally on Monday, too, and this week shares of the oil rig operator are up roughly $8, to a share price above $54.

The recent gains for Transocean aren't an oil spill milestone. Transocean shares have traded as high as $55 in recent weeks. Still, the big rally ahead of its earnings is helping arguments that Transocean has the most room to run as the oil spill becomes less of an overhang on the stock.

There's been a spate of earnings from oil spill-linked companies this week, all trailing the $17 billion loss posted by BP on July 27.

BP finally hit the $40 threshold on Tuesday, a share price the oil company hadn't reached since May. The $40 mark for BP shares came as BP announced what it calls a "significant milestone" in the oil spill response, with its static kill operation taking control of well pressure. The White House also announced on Wednesday that roughly 74% of oil leaked by the BP well into the Gulf of Mexico has been cleaned up.

>>BP Stock Hits $40 Threshold

David Smith, an analyst at Johnson & Rice, said that Transocean will benefit the most of the oil spill stocks when the relief well finally provides the permanent seal on the well. It could be argued that the Transocean relief well rally was starting early with the success of the static kill.