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

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $2.76, but opened at $2.90. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.89, with a volume of 803,762 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KOS. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho raised shares of Kosmos Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $3.00 to $2.40 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.53.

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 2.5%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.57. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of -2.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $607.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $483.23 million. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 33.98% and a negative return on equity of 17.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.45 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 85,935 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total value of $176,166.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,678,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,589,988.15. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 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 $51,186.45. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 233,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $478,478.20. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 169,012 shares of company stock worth $346,475 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy in the second quarter worth $61,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 31.9% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 204,319 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 49,388 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 131.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,535,666 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,240,000 after acquiring an additional 871,749 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 86.6% during the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 337,762 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 156,708 shares in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.