Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS)

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 16,738 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 109% compared to the average volume of 8,002 call options.

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of KOS traded up $0.08 on Thursday, reaching $2.74. 18,096,027 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,035,344. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.76. Kosmos Energy has a 12 month low of $0.84 and a 12 month high of $2.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released 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). The company had revenue of $294.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.46 million. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 54.18% and a negative return on equity of 39.29%. Research analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Johnson Rice cut Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $4.50 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $1.00 price target (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kosmos Energy news, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of the business’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 transaction of $26,928.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 197,409 shares in the company, valued at $270,450.33. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Nealesh D. Shah purchased 157,894 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.90 per share, with a total value of $299,998.60. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,863,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,539,815.90. The trade was a 9.26% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 3,684,210 shares of company stock worth $6,999,999 and have sold 272,844 shares worth $377,592. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KOS. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 41.6% during the 2nd quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 18,671,480 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,115,000 after acquiring an additional 5,485,000 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 175.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,766,857 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,140,000 after buying an additional 4,308,275 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 14.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,411,046 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,467,000 after buying an additional 4,175,537 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Kosmos Energy by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,048,196 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,396,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 333.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,221,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477,102 shares in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.