Transocean: Killer Competition? Transocean and other offshore drillers are rallying today, but one analyst sees competition and range-bound oil prices keeping a lid on shares. By Ben Levisohn Updated July 3, 2017 12:32 p.m. ET Remember when Opec was supposed to save the day for oil stocks, particularly offshore drillers likeTransocean(RIG)? That hasn't worked out quite the way it was supposed to. ILLUSTRATION:AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Yes,OPEC has cut production, but U.S. oil explorers havekept on drilling. That's helped depress oil prices--and the shares of offshore drillers, who depend on higher oil prices for work. As a result, Transocean has plunged 41% this year, whileRowan(RDC) has tumbled 41%,Diamond Offshore Drilling(DO) has dropped 35%,Ensco(ESV) plummeted 43%, andNoble(NE) has fallen 34%. And no, it's not time to buy, says theZephirin Group's Longdley Zephirin, who maintained his Neutral outlook on offshore drillers over the weekend. He explains why: OPEC support has not materialized in the medium-term which has led to volatile commodity prices. The long-term pain facing the Offshore Drillers has not shown any sign of easing in the medium-term. The Offshore Drillers would continue to exercise strong cost control and building liquidity as they navigate weak demand, falling backlogs, day rates and utilization rates. That said, the environment is becoming competitive as Offshore Drillers compete for lower day rates to keep UDW rig assets working...We believe that it will take time for the Offshore Drillers to adjust to falling UDW day rates in response to weaker demand in the 2H17. As a result, we are lowering our price objective for Transocean Ltd. to $14.00/share from $16.00/share, Rowan Cos. to $14.00/share from $15.00/share, Diamond Offshore Drilling to $16.00/share from $18.00/share, ENSCO PLC to $8.50/share from $11.00/share and Noble Corp. PLC to $5.00/share from $6.50/share, respectively. Butoil prices are rising today, and so are offshore drilling stocks. Shares of Transocean have risen 5.8% to $8.71 at 12:25 p.m. today, Rowan has jumped 8.4% to $11.10, Diamond Offshore Drilling has climbed 7% to $11.59, Ensco has gained 6.5% to $5.50, and Noble has rallied 98% to $3.91. http://www.barrons.com/articles/tra...99099526?mod=yahoobarrons&ru=yahoo&yptr=yahoo