Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on DQ. HSBC upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Daqo New Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Nomura Securities raised Daqo New Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Daqo New Energy from $38.40 to $34.05 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Daqo New Energy from $23.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DQ traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $16.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 487,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,028,264. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 0.30. Daqo New Energy has a fifty-two week low of $13.62 and a fifty-two week high of $31.19.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($1.25). Daqo New Energy had a negative net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 1.04%. The company had revenue of $219.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Daqo New Energy will post -3.35 EPS for the current year.

Daqo New Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, July 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,080,000. Sylebra Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 103.9% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,496,997 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,456,000 after buying an additional 149,610 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Daqo New Energy by 112.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 322,635 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,710,000 after buying an additional 170,660 shares in the last quarter. 47.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.