Daiwa America Upgrades Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) to “Hold”

Daiwa America upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on DQ. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Daqo New Energy in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a buy rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Daqo New Energy to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. HSBC raised Daqo New Energy from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Daiwa Capital Markets reissued a hold rating and issued a $25.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Daqo New Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Stock Performance

DQ stock opened at $20.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.32. Daqo New Energy has a fifty-two week low of $13.62 and a fifty-two week high of $30.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.06 and a 200-day moving average of $18.94.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last posted its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 1.04% and a negative net margin of 4.11%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Daqo New Energy will post -3.35 EPS for the current year.

Daqo New Energy announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, July 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 8.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Daqo New Energy by 117.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Daqo New Energy by 22.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,104 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in Daqo New Energy by 20.6% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 10,734 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Daqo New Energy by 12,187.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in Daqo New Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 78,340 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. 47.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.