Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Trading Down 7.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Kosmos Energy to a sell with a $2.25 price target, sending the stock down 7.6% to about $2.56 on heavy intraday trading volatility (session low $2.54) and volume ~48% below its average.
• Company insiders bought meaningfully — the CFO and a director each purchased shares at $1.90 on March 10, and insiders have acquired roughly 3.68 million shares (~$7.0M) over the last three months, raising insider ownership to ~1.99%.
• Analyst and fundamental backdrop remains weak: consensus from analysts is an average rating of "Reduce" with a $2.22 average price target, while the company reports negative EPS, high leverage (debt/equity ~5.53) and a market cap near $1.24 billion.

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) traded down 7.6% on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a sell rating. The Goldman Sachs Group now has a $2.25 price target on the stock. Kosmos Energy traded as low as $2.54 and last traded at $2.56. 13,947,406 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 26,655,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.77.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on KOS. Wall Street Zen raised Kosmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Johnson Rice raised Kosmos Energy from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.25 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $2.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kosmos Energy

In other Kosmos Energy news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah purchased 157,894 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1.90 per share, with a total value of $299,998.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,863,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,539,815.90. This trade represents a 9.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director J Michael Stice purchased 52,631 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.90 per share, with a total value of $99,998.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 207,620 shares in the company, valued at $394,478. The trade was a 33.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in Kosmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $179,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 500.6% during the 4th 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 period. Numerai GP LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,000. Institutional investors own 95.33% of the company's stock.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -1.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.65.

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

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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