Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 44,736,845 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 100% from the previous session’s volume of 22,378,039 shares.The stock last traded at $1.98 and had previously closed at $2.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $1.00 target price (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Stephens assumed coverage on Kosmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $1.75 price objective on the stock. Johnson Rice lowered Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $4.50 to $3.50 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kosmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Stock Down 18.7%

The firm has a market cap of $942.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.34 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.49.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.02). Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 54.18% and a negative return on equity of 39.29%. The business had revenue of $294.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.46 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kosmos Energy

In related news, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 103,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total value of $141,868.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,271,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,852,153.65. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 54,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total transaction of $74,574.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,729,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,369,904.09. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 272,844 shares of company stock valued at $377,592. Insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kosmos Energy during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 24,634 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 7,169 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 13,854 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kosmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. 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.