Institutional ticker directory tracking stock mentions, long/short ideas, and high-conviction pitches extracted from quarterly hedge fund letters.
| Ticker | Company | Sector | Industry | Pitches | Stance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund / Manager | Thesis Excerpt | Stance | Period / Date | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Moerus Capital Management LLC Amit Wadhwaney | “Valaris, the largest individual contributor to performance in H1. Shares of this U.S.-based provider of offshore drilling services surged in response to the February 9th announcement that the company had agreed to be acquired by Transocean in an all-stock transaction, which was priced at a roughly 32% premium to Valaris' stock price (based on the previous day's closing price of each stock). Valaris was added to the Fund in early 2025 following a slide in its share price, amid then-subdued oil prices and what we believed to be a temporary lull in offshore drilling activity caused by support infrastructure constraints (among other factors). These shorter-term headwinds temporarily overshadowed the longer-term benefits of what we viewed to be a dramatic transformation undergone by the offshore drilling industry since 2019. A wave of bankruptcies, mergers, and acquisitions has consolidated the higher-spec deepwater rig market into just four companies (including Transocean and Valaris) that arguably dominate the space; meanwhile Valaris had emerged from its 2021 restructuring with a cleaned-up balance sheet. At the time of purchase, we believed this consolidation was likely to bring long-absent supply and pricing discipline to the industry, with favorable implications for profitability looking forward. Yet the near-term headwinds at that time offered the opportunity to invest in Valaris at a significant discount (in our estimation) to both the construction cost of its fleet and the secondary market value of its rigs. It appears Transocean agrees with that view given its pending takeover offer for Valaris – an announcement that was enthusiastically received by investors, who have generally viewed the combination as a win-win for both companies. Later on in the First Half, we eliminated the Fund's position in Valaris following a surge in its share price that resulted from both the pending Transocean transaction as well as the jump in oil prices due to the war.” | BULL | Q2 2026 Aug 14, 2026 | View Pitch |
Open Insights Capital Nelson Wu | “Similar to our OXY holdings, our Valaris (VAL) investment also round-tripped. As you may recall we purchased shares of VAL last quarter after it announced a tie-up with Transocean (RIG). At close, each share of VAL converts into 15.235 shares of RIG. In RIG's most recent quarterly update, the company indicated that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a second request and will require additional time to review the transaction for anti-trust issues. The government's forced to take a closer look because a combined VAL-RIG (New RIG) will own a larger global share of the 7th generation offshore drilling rigs. There are a few positive factors though, New RIG will only own ~1/3 of the 7th generation drillships, and given it's a large global market, it's not an entirely dominant position. Additionally, there are 7 stacked rigs, which is indicative of a soft market, and RIG can add those back, or sell them if the DOJ requires mitigating actions. A New RIG will become the leader of the industry with $10B in drilling backlogs, but Borr and Noble will still be nipping at its heel. We think eventually an approval may require some divestitures, but overall the drilling market is large enough if we look at the totality of drilling ships and jackups that a combined VAL/RIG should clear the necessary hurdles. VAL shares currently trade at a slight discount to the RIG shares, which is the market pricing in a fairly high certainty that the merger will be consummated. We continue to hold the shares, and may look to add if we see some weakness.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 22, 2026 | View Pitch |
Third Avenue Value Fund Matthew Fine | “However, on the more frustrating end of the performance ledger were Tidewater, Valaris, Harbour Energy, BMW and Jardine Cycle & Carriage. Although, it should be noted that both Tidewater and Valaris remain among the strongest contributors to Fund performance year-to-date. Tidewater, Valaris and Harbour share a close association with offshore energy production. The former two companies provide offshore energy services through Tidewater's operation of the world's largest fleet of platform supply vessels and Valaris' operation of one of the world's largest fleets of offshore drilling rigs. The shares of Tidewater and Valaris have declined significantly from recent highs. It is not entirely surprising that this group of investments weakened as a perceived line of sight to an end of the war in Iran and a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz recently came into view, though we feel strongly that this type of knee-jerk reaction belies a few key points.” | BULL | Q2 2026 Jul 17, 2026 | View Pitch |
Pabrai Wagons Fund Mohnish Pabrai | “We have 3 positions in U.S. offshore oil services. Offshore accounts for 1/3 of global oil and gas production and breaks even at levels far below fracking and other methods. Drillships are complex and expensive. There is no new supply in the pipeline. In our view, shares are trading at a significant discount to replacement value. Given the operating leverage, we believe that at $1 million day rates, Transocean, Valaris, and Noble's free cash flow could surge dramatically, and be well over $1 billion per year.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 4, 2026 | View Pitch |
Open Insights Capital Nelson Wu | “VAL is a US company that owns and leases out 15 drillship and 31 jackups to energy producers worldwide. Under the proposed transaction, VAL shareholders will receive 15.235 RIG shares for every share ” | BULL | Q1 2026 Apr 15, 2026 | View Pitch |
Tectonic Investment Management Portfolio Manager | “The fund completely exited its stake in Valaris following its announced all-stock acquisition by Transocean, realizing a 140% return over a one-year holding period. While the manager acknowledged the strategic sense and cost synergies of the merger, they chose to take profits and maintain cash liquidity instead of holding Transocean shares. This decision was driven by a preference to redeploy capital into other high-conviction positions during a volatile market environment.” | BULL | Q1 2026 Mar 31, 2026 | View Pitch |
Guinness Global Energy Will Riley, Jonathan Waghorn, Tim Guinness | “Valero, the largest of the U.S. refiners, was among September's strongest performers in the Guinness Global Energy Fund portfolio. The company has benefited from a recovery in refining margins and a steady ramp-up of U.S. Gulf Coast demand. Strong cash flow generation and a disciplined capital allocation strategy, including consistent dividend growth and share buybacks, continue to support the investment case. The management team's focus on cost control and operational efficiency remains key to sustaining performance as product spreads normalize. BSD Analysis: Valero remains one of the most efficient refiners globally, with a complex asset base that lets it capitalize on heavy-crude discounts and robust distillate margins. Crack spreads remain elevated, and operational discipline supports industry-leading utilization and free cash flow. Renewable Diesel adds a high-margin kicker that most peers can't replicate. Despite strong fundamentals, the stock still trades at a deep cyclical discount. With supply tight and demand proving sticky, Valero remains a cash-flow machine set up for continued shareholder returns.” | BULL | Q3 2025 Oct 1, 2025 | View Pitch |
Praetorian Capital Management Harris "Kuppy" Kupperman | “We own a collection of offshore services companies (drillships, jack-ups and OSVs), in the belief that offshore spending will increase in the future as a percentage of overall oilfield spending. This ” | BULL | Q1 2025 Apr 24, 2025 | View Pitch |
Praetorian Capital Management Harris "Kuppy" Kupperman | “Valaris is this Fund's largest position. At the close of trading on December 2024, Valaris had a market cap of $3.15 billion, and a net debt position of appx. $800 million for an Enterprise Value of a” | BULL | Q4 2024 Jan 12, 2025 | View Pitch |
Praetorian Capital Management Harris "Kuppy" Kupperman | “In 2020 when oil traded below zero, drilling activity ground to a halt and many energy service providers declared bankruptcy. Many of these businesses had teetered on the verge of bankruptcy for years” | BEAR | Q3 2024 Sep 30, 2024 | View Pitch |
Each excerpt above is the manager's commentary on this ticker specifically. The full letter has the rest of their portfolio thinking, risk discussion, and broader institutional context.
