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

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.78, but opened at $2.64. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.65, with a volume of 6,035,299 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KOS shares. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 target price (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. 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 research report on Friday, January 30th. Johnson Rice raised Kosmos Energy from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.19.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.86, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $2.06 and its 200-day moving average is $1.59.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $294.62 million for the quarter. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 54.18% and a negative return on equity of 39.29%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kosmos Energy

In other news, Director Adebayo O. Ogunlesi acquired 3,157,895 shares of the firm’s 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 $6,000,000.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,974,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,450,949.60. This represents a 173.87% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 3,684,210 shares of company stock valued at $6,999,999 and have sold 272,844 shares valued at $377,592. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $188,000. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $179,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 500.6% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 914,037 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 761,861 shares during the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in Kosmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $140,000. 95.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.