Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Up to $19.61

Shares of Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $19.61, but opened at $21.23. Daqo New Energy shares last traded at $20.54, with a volume of 520,519 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC upgraded 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, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Daqo New Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Daqo New Energy from $38.40 to $34.05 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Daqo New Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.24. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Daqo New Energy declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DQ. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,080,000. Sylebra Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 103.9% during the second quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 943,692 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,778,000 after purchasing an additional 480,980 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in 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 valued at $36,456,000 after purchasing an additional 149,610 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its stake in Daqo New Energy by 202.3% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,387 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 4,274 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position 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 during 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.