Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS)

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 22,748 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 137% compared to the average volume of 9,594 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kosmos Energy news, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 24,969 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 $51,186.45. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 233,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $478,478.20. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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, Director Steven Sterin sold 38,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.73, for a total transaction of $105,476.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 331,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $904,435.35. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 294,580 shares of company stock valued at $689,275 in the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KOS. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 6.2% in the first quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 20,678,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,053 shares during the last quarter. Dalton Investments Inc. bought a new position in Kosmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $454,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 494.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 722,891 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,010,000 after buying an additional 601,368 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $188,000. Finally, SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC increased its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 73.0% in the 1st quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 23,814 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 10,050 shares during the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:KOS traded up $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.28. 14,070,981 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,054,674. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.36, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.20. Kosmos Energy has a 1-year low of $0.84 and a 1-year high of $3.34.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Johnson Rice raised shares of Kosmos Energy from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Mizuho reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective (up from $2.00) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Kosmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Kosmos Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $2.25 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Kosmos Energy from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kosmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.44.

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.