Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.93, but opened at $3.05. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $3.03, with a volume of 4,041,570 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Kosmos Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $2.25 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Johnson Rice upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kosmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.22.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $2.62 and its 200 day moving average is $1.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. 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 for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kosmos Energy

In related news, Director Adebayo O. Ogunlesi purchased 3,157,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.90 per share, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,974,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,450,949.60. This trade represents a 173.87% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Nealesh D. Shah purchased 157,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.90 per share, for a total transaction of $299,998.60. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,863,061 shares in the company, valued at $3,539,815.90. This represents 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 acquired 3,684,210 shares of company stock worth $6,999,999 and sold 272,844 shares worth $377,592. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 13,854 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors acquired a new position in Kosmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

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.