Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $2.57, but opened at $2.69. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.69, with a volume of 6,387,821 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 price objective (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $4.50 to $3.50 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.54 and a 200-day moving average of $1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.79 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by ($0.02). Kosmos Energy had a negative return on equity of 39.29% and a negative net margin of 54.18%.The company had revenue of $294.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.46 million. Equities analysts predict that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In other Kosmos Energy news, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total value of $26,928.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 197,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,450.33. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Glass sold 19,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total value of $26,420.45. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 342,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,834.65. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 272,844 shares of company stock worth $377,592 in the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOS. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Kosmos Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 24,634 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 7,169 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 93.9% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 28,601 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 13,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. 95.33% of the stock is owned by 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.