Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Kosmos shares recently crossed above their 200-day moving average (200‑day MA $1.67), trading as high as $2.70 and last at $2.63 on heavy volume (~12.3M shares).
• Wall Street's consensus rating is Reduce with a $2.22 consensus price target, reflecting mixed analyst views (2 Buys, 4 Holds, 3 Sells).
• Company fundamentals remain weak—negative EPS, a -54% net margin and a debt/equity of 5.53—but insiders have been buying shares, notably the CFO's 157,894‑share purchase at $1.90 and net insider purchases of ~3.68M shares over three months.

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $1.67 and traded as high as $2.70. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.63, with a volume of 12,313,721 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on KOS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kosmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Kosmos Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $2.25 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Johnson Rice raised shares of Kosmos Energy from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.25 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $2.22.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $2.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) earnings per share 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 during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total value of $26,928.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 197,409 shares in the company, valued at $270,450.33. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Nealesh D. Shah acquired 157,894 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1.90 per share, for a total transaction of $299,998.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,863,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,539,815.90. This trade represents a 9.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 3,684,210 shares of company stock valued at $6,999,999 and sold 272,844 shares valued at $377,592. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KOS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 56.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 387,739 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 140,261 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 4.5% in 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 during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 21.1% in 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 during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Kosmos Energy in the first quarter worth $120,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 7.9% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 718,954 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 52,750 shares during the period. 95.33% of the stock is currently 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.

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