Holding steady, but momentum looms

Adj EBIT in line, outlook more positive

Adj. EBIT largely in line. More positive outlook, more headroom on covenants

Noble (Buy, TP: USD35.00) - Sensible amid wait for better times

We like Noble’s initial retirement efforts helping to signal discipline in a challenging deepwater market, despite the real effect on the market balance being limited so far. We remain more muted than consensus on its earnings profile, being 13–18% below for 2026–2027e. We see the main investor focus on shareholder return and yield, and further earnings improvement would be required for Noble to close the gap to NAV. We reiterate our BUY, but have cut our target price to USD35 (37).

ALK-Abello (Buy, TP: DKK190.00) - Sales trump one-offs in Q4

While one-off costs took the initial focus (albeit broadly pre-warned), a solid underlying performance in Q4 was anchored in the important European tablet sales, which exceeded expectations. We find the 2025 guidance in line with expectations, but see upside risk to consensus on the top line given strong momentum in tablet sales in Europe. We reiterate our BUY and DKK190 target price.

Valaris (Buy, TP: USD52.00) - Retirements and jackup backlog

The recently announced fleet retirements are positive but mainly serve as a signal, in our view, with the impact on supply/demand limited as the rigs (except DPS-5) were not being actively marketed. The fleet status report (FSR) contained several jackup extensions but limited news on the UDW fleet. While there is uncertainty for some rigs, we believe several could pick up work starting in mid-2026, helping to build 2027 visibility. Hence, the cash flow story remains on the horizon, with improvements key to help close the NAV gap and for intrinsic value to crystallise. We reiterate our BUY and ...