Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Up to $14.04

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $14.04, but opened at $14.47. Daqo New Energy shares last traded at $14.52, with a volume of 43,571 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DQ. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Daqo New Energy from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Daqo New Energy from $23.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. HSBC upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Daqo New Energy in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Daqo New Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $970.96 million, a P/E ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.11.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by ($1.25). The company had revenue of $219.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.50 million. Daqo New Energy had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 2.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Daqo New Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, July 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,080,000. Sylebra Capital LLC boosted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 103.9% in the second quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 943,692 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,778,000 after buying an additional 480,980 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Daqo New Energy by 6.4% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,496,997 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,456,000 after acquiring an additional 149,610 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 202.3% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,387 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 4,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 112.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 322,635 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,710,000 after acquiring an additional 170,660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

About Daqo New Energy

Daqo New Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers in the People's Republic of China. Its products are used in ingots, wafers, cells, and modules for solar power solutions. The company was formerly known as Mega Stand International Limited and changed its name to Daqo New Energy Corp.