Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Stock Price Down 5.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ)’s stock price dropped 5.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Roth Mkm lowered their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $15.00. Roth Mkm currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Daqo New Energy traded as low as $14.08 and last traded at $14.10. Approximately 188,259 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 1,059,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.85.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. HSBC raised shares of Daqo New Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Daqo New Energy from $38.40 to $34.05 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Daqo New Energy from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Daqo New Energy in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.26.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DQ. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 12,187.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 117.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 202.3% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,387 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 4,274 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 22.2% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,104 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

Daqo New Energy Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.18. The stock has a market cap of $925.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.28.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by ($1.25). The company had revenue of $219.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Daqo New Energy announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, July 22nd that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 8.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.