Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $1.77, but opened at $1.98. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.0850, with a volume of 8,339,633 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KOS. Mizuho cut their price target on Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. Johnson Rice cut shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $4.50 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut 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 report on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 16.7%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $987.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kosmos Energy news, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 103,554 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total value of $141,868.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,271,645 shares in the company, valued at $5,852,153.65. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 54,434 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total value of $74,574.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,729,857 shares in the company, valued at $2,369,904.09. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 272,844 shares of company stock valued at $377,592 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 13,854 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Old Port Advisors acquired a new stake in Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Ellevest Inc. acquired a new position in Kosmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 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.