Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Kosmos Energy shares fell at the open, dropping from a prior close of $2.63 to $2.44 before recovering to about $2.52 on heavy trading volume.
• Analysts remain cautious: the stock has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $2.53, with recent target changes ranging from $2.40 to $3.00.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.07 per share, missing estimates by $0.15, while revenue of $370.7 million also fell short of expectations; insiders have sold $689,275 of shares over the past 90 days.

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $2.63, but opened at $2.44. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.52, with a volume of 2,103,143 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Kosmos Energy to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kosmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Mizuho restated an "underperform" rating and set a $3.00 price objective (up from $2.00) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Kosmos Energy from $3.00 to $2.40 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $2.53.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.56, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.46, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.71.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $370.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.21 million. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 59.38% and a negative return on equity of 37.60%. As a group, analysts predict that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In other Kosmos Energy news, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 85,935 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total transaction of $176,166.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,678,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,589,988.15. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total transaction of $51,186.45. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 233,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $478,478.20. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 sold 294,580 shares of company stock worth $689,275 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KOS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 387,739 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 140,261 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Kosmos Energy by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 278,082 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 12,045 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Kosmos Energy by 21.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,541,006 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,793,000 after purchasing an additional 443,384 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the first quarter worth $120,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 7.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 718,954 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 52,750 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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