Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $18.26, but opened at $18.64. Daqo New Energy shares last traded at $18.56, with a volume of 144,480 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.03 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.74.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The semiconductor company reported ($2.71) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by ($2.02). Daqo New Energy had a negative net margin of 9.16% and a negative return on equity of 1.90%. The business had revenue of $195.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.54 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new position in Daqo New Energy in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 15.4% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 10,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in Daqo New Energy by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 14,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 5,570 shares during the period. Diametric Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 16,018 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 3,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,067 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. 47.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Daqo New Energy Company Profile

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.