Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS)

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 22,748 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 137% compared to the average daily volume of 9,594 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on KOS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kosmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Kosmos Energy from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Kosmos Energy to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Johnson Rice raised shares of Kosmos Energy from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Kosmos Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $2.25 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.44.

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In other news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 45,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total value of $94,259.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,935,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,967,590.50. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 24,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total transaction of $51,186.45. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 233,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,478.20. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 294,580 shares of company stock valued at $689,275. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Kosmos Energy by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 46,938 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 4,361 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,169 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 57,782 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 9,159 shares in the last quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 73.0% in the 1st quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 23,814 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 10,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 45,539 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 10,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

Kosmos Energy Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of KOS stock traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, hitting $2.28. 14,070,981 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,054,674. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.71. Kosmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $0.84 and a fifty-two week high of $3.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $2.72 and a 200 day moving average of $2.20.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.15). Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 59.38% and a negative return on equity of 37.60%. The firm had revenue of $370.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $405.21 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Kosmos Energy Company Profile

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.