Kosmos Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:KOS)

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 19,453 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 282% compared to the typical volume of 5,098 call options.

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In related news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 54,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total transaction of $74,574.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,729,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,369,904.09. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Glass sold 19,285 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 transaction of $26,420.45. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 342,945 shares in the company, valued at $469,834.65. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 272,844 shares of company stock valued at $377,592 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KOS. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 500.6% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 914,037 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 761,861 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Kosmos Energy by 91.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 523,933 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 249,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Kosmos Energy by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 19,469,980 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,500 shares during the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Johnson Rice lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $4.50 to $3.50 in a report on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Kosmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $1.75 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Stock Up 18.4%

Shares of KOS stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2.10. 27,913,391 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,317,041. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.44. Kosmos Energy has a 12-month low of $0.84 and a 12-month high of $3.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.07 and a beta of 0.90.

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.