Did you suffer stock losses due to your broker recommending Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc.(DO)? Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. on Sunday, April 26, 2020, filed for bankruptcy as they struggled with the collapse in crude oil prices along with lower energy demand.
Today DO is trading at approximately, 0.9384. The 52-week range is 0.6700 – 10.7600.
According to a Bloomberg report, the Houston-based energy exploration company, which is controlled by Loews Corp. (L) filed the Chapter 11 petition at the U.S. District & Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas. According to the filing, Diamond Offshore Drilling has $5.8 billion of assets and $2.6 billion of debt, citing year-end 2019 data, with approximately $434.9 million of available cash. They also cited that it worsened in recent months due to the oil price war and the coronavirus pandemic which derailed oil prices.
Oil futures were trading this month below zero for the first time in history as the inventory rose and the global demand, due to COVID 19, dried up.
Diamond Offshore Drilling’s CEO Marc Edwards stated, "After a careful and diligent review of our financial alternatives, the board of directors and management, along with our advisors, concluded that the best path forward for Diamond and its stakeholders is to seek chapter 11 protection. Through this process, we intend to restructure our balance sheet to achieve a more sustainable debt level to reposition the business for long-term success."
According to The Street, West Texas Intermediate crude contracts for June delivery were down 26.4% Monday, trading at $12.49 a barrel. Loews Corp., which owns 53% of Diamond Offshore Drilling, said Monday it expects to record a "significant" non-cash second-quarter loss from its investment in DO.
Bloomberg reported that with Diamond Offshore Drilling’s filing, it adds to more than 200 of oil patch bankruptcies dating back to 2015.
The price of oil and gas stocks can be extremely volatile, making it high-risk for low-risk investors who have a conservative portfolio or retirement in mind. It can be devastating to the life savings of clients who were not made aware of the possible risks involved with these stocks. Broker/dealers and financial advisors have an obligation to explain the risks to their clients before buying these very volatile investments.
If you’ve experienced financial losses due to your broker recommending the purchase of Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc.(DO), or any other oil and gas stock, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to a lawyer at no cost regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at: 888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group works on a contingency fee and represents our clients nationwide before FINRA.