Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $2.69, but opened at $2.93. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.98, with a volume of 5,678,729 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KOS shares. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $1.00 price objective (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Johnson Rice upgraded Kosmos Energy from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kosmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.19.

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 5.2%

The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.59.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 54.18% and a negative return on equity of 39.29%. The firm had revenue of $294.62 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kosmos Energy news, Director J Michael Stice acquired 52,631 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.90 per share, with a total value of $99,998.90. Following the purchase, the director owned 207,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $394,478. The trade was a 33.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Adebayo O. Ogunlesi acquired 3,157,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.90 per share, with a total value of $6,000,000.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,974,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,450,949.60. This trade represents a 173.87% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 3,684,210 shares of company stock valued at $6,999,999 and have sold 272,844 shares valued at $377,592. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KOS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kosmos Energy by 56.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 387,739 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 140,261 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 278,082 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 12,045 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 21.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,541,006 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,793,000 after acquiring an additional 443,384 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy during the first quarter worth $120,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 7.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 718,954 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 52,750 shares in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kosmos Energy

Kosmos Energy Ltd. is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Since its founding in 2003, the company has focused on identifying and developing hydrocarbon reserves in frontier and emerging basins around the world. Kosmos combines geological and geophysical expertise with a disciplined approach to acreage acquisition and partner selection to pursue high‐impact offshore exploration opportunities.

The company’s portfolio is anchored by assets in West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.