Kosmos shares fall after downgrade
Kosmos shares fall after Raymond James analyst cuts to "Market Perform" citing project delay
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Kosmos Energy Ltd. fell Tuesday after a Raymond James analyst downgraded its stock.
THE SPARK: Pavel Molchanov cut his rating for Kosmos shares to "Market Perform" from "Outperform," saying that since the start of drilling for the company's next high-impact exploration prospect has been pushed back into 2014, there won't be much news to move its stock for the rest of this year.
THE BIG PICTURE: Over the past six months, the company's explorations efforts in Ghana and Cameroon have resulted in largely disappointing results, Molchanov said.
Meanwhile, the company's project in Morocco, originally set to start in the second half of this year, has been delayed until the first quarter of 2014, which means the company probably won't announce any major exploration results for another eight to 10 months, he said.
THE ANALYSIS: "Given that Kosmos remains a catalyst-driven story stock with a distant outlook for sustained profitability, we think it is prudent to step onto the sidelines for the time being," Molchanov wrote in a note to investors.
THE SHARES: Down 20 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $10.41 in afternoon trading, after falling as low as $10.20. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded between $8.19 and $13.05.
