5 Best Sliver Stocks To Watch For 2015

5 Best Sliver Stocks To Watch For 2015: DryShips Inc (DRYS)

DryShips Inc. (DryShips), incorporated in September 2004, is a holding company engaged in the ocean transportation services of drybulk cargoes and crude oil worldwide through the ownership and operation of drybulk carrier vessels and oil tankers and offshore drilling services through the ownership and operation of ultra-deepwater drilling units. As of December 31, 2011, DryShips owned and operated two fifth generation ultra-deepwater, semi-submersible offshore drilling rigs, the Leiv Eiriksson and the Eirik Raude, and four sixth generation, advanced capability ultra-deepwater drillships, the Ocean Rig Corcovado, the Ocean Rig Olympia, the Ocean Rig Poseidon and the Ocean Rig Mykonos. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned and operated four Aframax tankers, Saga, Daytona, Belmar, and Calida, and one Suezmax tanker, Vilamoura. On August 24, 2011, DryShips acquired all of their shares of OceanFreight Inc. On October 5, 2011, DryShips completed the partial spin off of Ocea n Rig UDW Inc. (Ocean Rig UDW). On November 3, 2011, the merger of Pelican Stockholdings Inc. (Pelican Stockholdings), its wholly owned subsidiary, and OceanFreight, was completed. In January 2013, it sold two of its tankers under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries, Esperona and Blanca.

As of December 31, 2011, DryShips operated its tankers under pooling arrangements that are managed by Heidmar Inc. As of March 6, 2012, the Company owned, through its subsidiaries, a fleet of 36 drybulk carriers, consisting of nine Capesize, 25 Panamax and two Supramax vessels, which have a combined deadweight tonnage of approximately 3.53 million deadweight tonnage and an average age of approximately eight years; six drilling units, comprised of two modern, fifth generation, advanced capability ultra-deepwater semisubmersible offshore drilling rigs and four sixth generation, advanced capability ultra-deepwater drillships, and five tankers, comprised of four ! Aframax and on e Suezmax tankers.

The Companys drybulk fleet principally carries a variety of drybulk commodities, including major bulk items, such as coal, iron ore, and grains, and minor bulk items, such as bauxite, phosphate, fertilizers and steel products. During the year ended December 31, 2011, DryShips sold the drybulk vessel Primera; contracted for and completed the sale of the drybulk vessels La Jolla, Conquistador, Brisbane, Samsara and Toro; took delivery of its four sixth-generation, ultra-deepwater advanced capability sister drillships constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (Samsung), the Ocean Rig Corcovado, the Ocean Rig Olympia, the Ocean Rig Poseidon and the Ocean Rig Mykonos; took delivery of three newbuilding Aframax tankers, Saga, Daytona and Belmar, and one newbuilding Suezmax tanker, Vilamoura, and acquired four Capesize vessels, MV Robusto, MV Cohiba, MV Montecristo and MV Partagas, two Panamax vessels, the MV Topeka and the MV Helena. DrySh ips contracted for and completed the sale of the drybulk vessels Avoca and Padre, which were delivered to their new owners, on February 14, 2012 and February 24, 2012, respectively.

Drybulk Operations

The Company manages the deployment of its drybulk fleet between long-term and short-term time charters. A time charter is a contract to charter a vessel for a fixed period of time at a specified or floating daily or index-based daily rate and can last from a few days to several years. A spot charter refers to a voyage charter or a trip charter or a short-term time charter. Under a bareboat charter, the vessel is chartered for a stipulated period of time, which gives the charterer possession and control of the vessel, including the right to appoint the master and the crew.

Offshore Drilling Operations

In January 2012, following the completion of the contract with Tullow Oil plc (Tullow Oil) contract, discussed below, the Eirik Raude commenced a contract with Anadarko Co! te dIvoir! e Company (Anadarko) for the drilling of two wells offshore West Africa. Its offshore drilling operations consist of the Ocean Rig Corcovado, the Ocean Rig Olympia, the Ocean Rig Poseidon and the Ocean Rig Mykonos. As of December 31, 2011, the Ocean Rig Corcovado was employed under a three-year contract, plus a mobilization period, with Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras Brazil) for drilling operations offshore Brazil. The Ocean Rig Olympia is operating under contracts to drill a total of five wells for exploration drilling offshore Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The Ocean Rig Poseidon commenced a contract with Petrobras Tanzania, a company related to Petrobras Oil & Gas B.V. (Petrobras Oil & Gas).

The Ocean Rig Mykonos commenced a three-year contract, plus a mobilization period, with Petrobras Brazil, on September 30, 2011, for drilling operations offshore Brazil. DryShipss wholly owned subsidiary, Ocean Ri g AS, provides supervisory management services, including onshore management, to its operating drilling rigs and drillships. DryShips also has contracts to provide offshore drilling services and drilling units.

Tanker Operations

The Company employs its Aframax tankers Saga, Daytona, Belmar and Calida, in the Sigma tanker pool, which consists of 46 Aframax tankers, with fourteen different pool partners. It employs its Suezmax tanker, Vilamoura, in the Blue Fin tanker pool, which consists of 18 Suezmax tankers with eight different pool partners.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Shares of DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS) were down 23.25 percent to $1.54 after the company priced 250 million shares of common stock at $1.40 per share.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  The last few weeks have been, shall we say "interesting" for maritime shipping stocks like FreeSeas Inc. (NASDAQ:FREE), DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS), and NewLead Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:NEWL). The strong rise in the Baltic Dry Index - the average daily charter rate of a dr! y goods v! essel - since mid-August (and really since early June) has meant maritime shippers can charge more for their services, and who knows? Maybe they can even turn a profit sometime in the foreseeable future. As a result of that possibility, DRYS gained nearly 100% in a little over a month., NEWL was up as much as 70% at one point in late September, and FREE advanced nearly 300% on the heels of the Baltic Dry Index's runup from 1000 to more than 2000 in just a little over a month.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/5-best-sliver-stocks-to-watch-for-2015-3.html